SEA ISLE CITY – A Philadelphia man working on a seventh-floor condominium balcony in Sea Isle City died Friday afternoon when the balcony above collapsed on top of him.
At 2:20 p.m. Friday, the Sea Isle City Police Department received a 911 call about a balcony collapse at the Spinnaker Condominium Complex at 3500–3700 Boardwalk, according to Police Chief Anthony J. Garreffi Jr. Responding police officers discovered the collapse at the Spinnaker’s South Tower on the north side of the building.
Police said the eighth-floor balcony collapsed onto the seventh-floor balcony at Unit 712, with one victim pinned under an approximately 30-foot-long concrete slab. The victim was a construction employee working for a private contractor on the building’s exterior.
Sea Isle City police, fire and EMS attempted to reach the victim but observed significant cracks in the surrounding area and a slope to the balcony, and it was determined that the side of the building was unsafe, according to Garreffi. At that point, requests were made for additional rescue personnel and equipment, and the building was evacuated of all residents.
The Cape May County and Camden County Regional Urban Search and Rescue Teams responded, along with Strathmere, Ocean City, Marmora, Stone Harbor and Wildwood Fire Departments.
As a result of the victim’s location, a coordinated recovery plan was developed to breach the outside wall of the building near the victim by cutting through approximately 12 inches of reinforced concrete after the seventh-floor balcony was temporarily stabilized from underneath, according to Garreffi. Once an opening was created in the wall, the concrete slab was lifted by heavy lift air bags and the victim was successfully recovered.
The victim, Jose Pereira, 43, of Philadelphia, Pa., was pronounced deceased at 9:52 p.m. at the scene by a Cape May County forensic nurse. He was then transported to the Cape May County Medical Examiner’s Office. Pereira was employed by Ferguson Contracting, Inc., of Yardley, Pa.
The incident is currently under investigation by Sea Isle Police detectives, with assistance from the Cape May County Prosecutor’s Office and Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA).
Cape May County Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear and Explosive Weapons Coordinator, Cape May County Communications and the Cape May County Emergency Medical Coordinator also assisted with the operation.
All of the decks on the exterior of the Spinnaker’s South Tower, near where the incident occurred, are currently being stabilized. Once the building is considered safe, further evaluations on both Spinnaker buildings will be conducted by private engineers, according to Garreffi.