UPDATED: 2/25/23, 1 p.m.
PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — Recovery efforts have ended in Sea Isle City following a balcony collapse Friday afternoon that killed a Philadelphia man.
Cape May County police say Jose Pereira, 43, was trapped when an eighth floor balcony collapsed and fell on him while he and two others were doing construction work at the south tower of the Spinnaker Condominiums on 36th Street and Pleasure Avenue.
The other two workers were on the eighth floor balcony when it collapsed onto the seventh floor balcony. They sustained minor injuries.
It is unclear what caused the collapse, but the building is considered unstable. The fallen slab continues to rest atop the seventh floor balcony. First responders were able to stabilize the lower balcony. They then created a hole in the wall and used heavy air bags to lift the slab and retrieve Pereira. He was pronounced dead by a forensic nurse at 9:52 p.m.
While rescue teams from Cape May County, Camden and the state quickly assembled, officials soon shifted the priority from rescue to recovery.
Neighbor Joye Fiocchi told our partners at NBC10 she heard the collapse. "I ran to my back balcony and I just heard this blood curdling scream," she recounted. "I’m still upset about it."
Fiocchi said she's greateful more people weren't around at the time. "Thank God this wasn’t the summertime," she said. "I don’t want to think about how many people would have been injured."
Sea Isle City police are investigating the incident, along with the Cape May County Prosecutor's Office and OSHA. The building is still considered unstable, and further inspection will begin once it is deemed safe enough.