Philadelphia Pier Collapse Kills 3
Investigators started removing wooden planks and plastic chairs from the Delaware River on Friday in a search for clues to why a nightclub pier collapsed sending dozens of people into the cool water and killing three women.
At least 37 others were injured, including eight rescue workers who were hurt as they pulled victims out of the water. Of the nine people who remain hospitalized, two are listed in serious condition.
"I heard a loud crash, and then all hell broke loose. I went straight down...then I was just trying to fight my way up," says the bartender at the Heat nightclub, 28-year-old Joseph Capaci.
President Clinton has voiced his "deepest condolences'' over the pier collapse. During a visit to Philadelphia Friday, the president said he's being kept informed on recovery efforts -- being overseen by the U.S. Coast Guard.
CBS News Correspondent Bobbi Harley reports about 40 people were on the pier when it plunged into the 30-foot-deep water shortly after 8 p.m. Thursday.
"One (patient) told me that they were standing there and suddenly the floor gave out, the lights went out, and they were in an ice bath," said Dr. Bartholomew Tortella of MCP Hahnemann University Hospital, who treated victims and firefighters.
The victims were attending a private party at the club, Al Novak of CBS Radio Station KYW reports. Fifty people were successfully rescued.
The debris and darkness hampered rescue efforts, but authorities said they did not believe anyone was still missing. Firefighter Joe Whoriskey said rescue workers wore wetsuits and had to feel for victims with their feet since they couldn't see.
"It was all pancaked in there, the walls fell down on the floor, then the ceiling, you had all kinds of deck furniture and kitchen equipment," said Whoriskey, who was injured during the rescue effort and received a tetanus shot and antibiotics for slashes and cuts.
The dead were identified as Jean Ferraro of Cherry Hill, N.J., DeAnn White of Philadelphia and Monica Rodriguz, whose hometown wasn't immediately identified.
Sorrow has replaced joy and wonderment at the New Jersey State Aquarium in Camden because the three victims were aquarium employees. The aquarium closed early Friday because of the accident.