1 student killed, 2 injured after column collapses at Oregon college
One student was killed and two more injured after a brick masonry column collapsed Monday night at Lewis & Clark College in Portland, Oregon, authorities said. Witnesses reported that there were six people in three hammocks when the column fell, Portland Fire & Rescue Bureau reports.
Fire crews initially struggled to reach the scene because it was "centrally located on the campus with challenging access due to the size of this college campus," the fire department reported.
A 19-year-old man died at the scene, and two 18-year-old women were injured, the fire department said. One of the women had injuries to her arm, and the other suffered abdominal injuries. They were both hospitalized in unknown conditions.
No one was found pinned underneath the column, fire department said. Firefighters "turned over the scene" to the college, who will "be the lead on this moving forward," the agency added.
There was no word on what may have caused the column to collapse. The college, meanwhile, said it was reaching out to the families of the victims.
"We are devastated to report that earlier this evening, a tragic accident occurred on the undergraduate campus in which one of our students was killed and two others were injured," the school said in a news release. "We are working to contact the students' families and will report more information as it becomes available. We are deeply saddened by the shocking loss of a member of our community."
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