3 Hurt After Sandy-Damaged Home Collapses

Officials say three people are in the hospital after a home collapsed in Little Egg Harbor Township, New Jersey.

The home, located on 3 Kansas Road, was previously damaged by Hurricane Sandy. Construction workers were working on the home in order to raise it nine feet off the ground, a height that would meet post-Sandy insurance and bank requirements.

"They'd be going inch by inch, slowly," said Rosalie Bloys, one of the homeowner's neighbors. "You could hardly even see it raising." 

The house was being elevated Wednesday around 5 p.m. when the workers heard a huge crack. The house then came tumbling down.

"I ran out and said, 'Oh my God! Oh my God!" said Giovina McSpirit, another neighbor.

The workers fled the home as soon as they heard the crack, but three of them didn't get out in time. Authorities say one of the workers fell from the home's top floor during the collapse.

The victims suffered serious injuries though none are life threatening, according to investigators. One worker suffered back, neck and foot injuries and was flown to the Atlantic City Medical Center. The other two were being treated at the Southern Ocean Medical Center for undisclosed injuries.

Officials are currently investigating the cause of the collapse.

The homeowner, who does not live at the house full time, is driving down from North Jersey to take a look at the damage. Neighbors say they pity the family, who already dealt with Sandy and now have to deal with more devastation.

"No one deserves that," McSpirit said. "They had a big mess, they cleaned up, got it all ready to go, and now, well, he can't clean this up." 

Copyright AP - Associated Press
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