Mineola building partially collapses; no injuries reported
The owner of Vass Pipe & Steel said the company has operated at the site for nearly 50 years and is still searching for answers after part of the building collapsed Saturday afternoon.
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A building in Mineola partially collapsed Saturday afternoon, police say.
Authorities said they received a call about the incident shortly after 12 p.m. The building was unoccupied at the time of the collapse, and no injuries were reported.
The building is owned by Vass Pipe & Steel. Sharad Jain, who works for the company, said it has operated at the site for nearly 50 years and has never experienced anything like this. He added that his sister had been inside the building about 20 minutes before the collapse.
"We've been here for a minute. Never seen anything like this. So that's why when they called, I thought, this has got to be fake or this is kind of a prank. It's overexaggerated, but sure enough, it's, It's real…" Jain said. "So first and foremost, I'm glad that everyone's safe. Everyone's healthy. And then after that, I'm just still shocked."
Jain said he does not know what caused the collapse. For now, no one is being allowed inside the building.
An engineer is expected to assess the structure's integrity on Monday as officials continue evaluating the damage and determining the cause of the incident.
