Worker Presumed Dead After Silo Collapse In Bucks County
By Matt Rivers and Steve Beck
BRISTOL, Pa. (CBS) -- A worker is presumed dead after a silo collapsed at an industrial complex in Bucks County, trapping him.
The worker has been identified by family members as 48-year-old Tony Gabriele.
The silo collapse happened before midnight at the Riverside Industrial Complex in the 7900 block of N. Radcliffe Street in Bristol.
Family members say Gabrielle was working the night shift at Silvi Concrete, loading concrete into trucks, when a silo, housing powered concrete, collapsed onto the trailer he was working in, burying him.
"The accident must have happened before 12 o'clock last night when he was supposed to punch out. We didn't find out nothing until the police came to his house at 3:30 this morning," Gabrielle's brother John said.
The collapse was not noticed until a police officer on routine patrol in the area spotted the collapse at about 3:15 a.m.
Emergency crews worked feverishly throughout the day in an attempt to locate the victim.
"There's so much debris, thousands of pounds of steel, thousands of pounds of dry cement, over 10 foot high," Chief Carl Pierce of the Edgeley Fire Department said.
At about 10:30 a.m., the operation shifted to a recovery operation.
Fire officials said the concrete spilling acted as an avalanche.
"We have determined that there is likely no survivable void space that exists within the area," Bucks County rescue official David Jaslow said.
Authorities say the recovery operation will last until the victim's body is located.
It was not immediately known what caused the silo to collapse in the first place.
The incident remains under investigation.
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