ROCKVILLE - Twenty-three hours after the collapse of an unfinished parking garage, rescue crews discovered the body yesterday of the accident's third victim under a mound of concrete and debris.
The construction worker and two co-workers from North Carolina appear to have been killed instantly when the seven-story, gray concrete structure they were working on near Twin- brook Parkway and Fishers Lane collapsed about 4 p.m. Friday, officials said.
Eleven other workers escaped the collapse unharmed, and the bodies of the first two victims were soon found. Another worker remained in critical condition at Suburban Hospital in Bethesda last night.
The discovery of the third victim about 3 p.m. yesterday ended an intensive search-and-rescue process that had begun Friday evening. About 60 workers from Montgomery County's search-and-rescue team and more than a dozen others labored around the clock to find the missing construction worker. In the end, their task shifted from rescue to recovery.
"It is tough - we are always focused on it being a rescue operation," said Assistant Chief Tom Carr of Montgomery County Fire and Rescue Service. "Our thoughts are with the family."
The first two victims of the accident, who were pronounced dead at the scene, were identified by police as Carl Gene Fisher of Wadesboro, N.C., and Hubaldo Medina Andrade of Chapel Hill, N.C.
The third victim was identified as Jose Ramirez of Raleigh, N.C. The name of the hospitalized man had not been released as of last night. Both were employees of the parking lot construction crew Buckner Steel Erection of Graham, N.C., a subcontractor of James G. Davis Construction Corp., the general contractor on the project.
Bright-yellow caution tape hung from trees and buildings around the area yesterday, where nearby buildings had been evacuated Friday for fear of further collapse. After the accident, crews moved in to stabilize the rest of the structure and make it safe for rescue workers to begin excavation.
Yesterday, workers sloshed through mud around the site created by the steady rain that fell all day and made recovery efforts more difficult. Throughout the night and day, rescue crews toiled in shifts, retreating to the basement of a nearby building to rest for three hours after every 90-minute shift.
Teamed with specially trained dogs and using sensory equipment, rescuers explored the site after every layer of rubble was removed. Throughout the search, the dogs pinpointed one area, and crews concentrated on it, removing thousands of pounds of concrete and steel.
When they had gotten close to the bottom of the pile in that area, the crews were able to see part of the victim's body. It was buried under several layers of rubble and was about 40 feet from the area that crews had been intensely searching.
Some workers who had been on site during the construction of the parking garage - including those who had been in the structure with the victims during the collapse - returned to the scene to wait, hope and lend a hand.
Frank Legnaioli, 35, superintendent of the Mount Airy excavation company AccuBid, was among those who were back to help.
"I can't even describe it," he said of his feelings while helping to direct pieces of equipment onto the site to help with recovery efforts. "I hope I never have this experience again."
Onlookers watched the efforts over the site's perimeter fence along Fishers Lane. A few feet away a sign read, "We remember Sept. 11, 2001."
As they watched the crews searching for the last missing worker, some onlookers said the scene reminded them of the images played over and over after the terrorist attacks.
"This is a little bit too eerie and a little bit close to home," said Christopher Merritt, 41, who lives nearby and heard helicopters flying over the site throughout the night.
There is no indication of any criminal involvement in the collapse, said Officer Derek Baliles, spokesman for Montgomery County police. Crews will decide if the remainder of the parking garage will need to be demolished as officials from Maryland Occupational Safety and Health continue to investigate the cause of the collapse.
The parking garage was part of the Fishers Place project. Officials from James G. Davis Construction Corp. said Friday that the garage was 60 percent to 70 percent complete at the time of the accident.