This article is more than 11 months old

This article is more than 11 months old

New Orleans officials said late on Saturday a second person had been killed in the partial collapse of a hotel under construction.

The city’s Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness released the news on its Twitter feed. There was still one person missing. Mayor LaToya Cantrell issued a statement saying: “Our hearts break for the loss of life.”

Officials called off the search but will resume on Sunday morning.

The collapse happened shortly after 9am at the site of a planned Hard Rock hotel at the edge of the historic French Quarter. On Saturday afternoon, emergency workers entered the building. Fire chief Tim McConnell said only part of the building was considered stable. A 270ft crane looming over the wreckage was also in danger of collapse, further complicating rescue efforts.

Authorities said around 20 people were taken to a hospital for treatment. All were considered stable. One man who had been unaccounted for turned out to have been at a local hospital.

The building was under construction at the corner of Rampart Street and Canal Street, a broad boulevard just outside the Quarter lined with restaurants hotels and retailers. Canal, which carries six lanes of traffic divided by a wide median where streetcars roll, separates the Quarter from the main business district.

WWL-TV aired a viewer’s dramatic video of the collapse, showing upper floors falling on top of each other before one side of the building toppled to the ground.

Another video on social media was taken by someone aboard a streetcar as it approached the site. It showed what looked like a metal structure or a piece of construction equipment tumbling and people running from the scene as clouds of dust billowed up, obscuring the view.

“It was a deep rumbling sound,” Matt Worges, who saw the collapse from a nearby building, told The Times-Picayune/The New Orleans Advocate.

“Like an airplane maybe. It drew my head immediately.”

Evacuees included guests at a hostel across the street from the damaged building.

“I heard a huge noise and thought it was a plane crashing. Then, the hostel shook,” said Sue Hurley, 68. She said she was reminded of news accounts of the 9/11 attacks.

Another hostel guest, Michael Arbeiter, 30, from Munich, Germany, said he was just getting out of the shower when the room shook.

“I’m not sure what happened but they told us to get out of here,” he said. “I’m supposed to stay until Monday. Thank God it was not another 9/11.”

Edwards urged people to stay away from the area, which was considered unstable. An unsupported crane listed away from the building site. As dust settled, twisted metal, concrete pilings and other wreckage covered part of Rampart Street.