Bodies of 2 Ironworkers recovered following Grays Ferry parking garage collapse
PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) -- City officials say they have recovered the bodies of two workers who were trapped in the rubble following the deadly parking garage collapse in the Grays Ferry section of Philadelphia.
Mayor Cherelle Parker made the announcement on Monday morning.
"They have recovered both individuals with the utmost dignity and compassion and respect for their families and loved ones," she said.
The victims were members of Ironworkers Local 401. They have been identified by friends and family as Matthew Kane and Mark Scott Jr.
Brian Forstater, a cousin of 51-year-old Kane, spoke to Action News Sunday night as he joined his aunt, Kane's mom, to watch crews comb through the rubble.
"Good father, good person, gonna miss him," he said. "Good times at the Thanksgiving table, good laughs."
The family of Mark Scott Jr. has asked for privacy.
A third victim, Stepan Shevchuk, was initially rescued from the garage on Wednesday, but later died at the hospital. A GoFundMe describes him as a 26-year-old, hardworking and cheerful man who came to America from Ukraine 11 years ago seeking a better life.
Crews worked through the weekend to demolish the partially collapsed parking garage after it came crashing down.
Within minutes of the structure being torn down, search teams entered the debris field at 9 p.m. on Sunday with a cadaver dog, looking for the two men who had been missing since Wednesday's collapse.
"Once we got to the stairwell, we literally had our tech rescue folks get in there and use tools of varying types to locate the people," said Fire Commissioner Jeffrey Thompson. "We had to delayer, we had to take it apart piece by piece using shovels, buckets, and our hands to get to the people."
WATCH: Video shows moment Philadelphia parking garage partially collapses
The bodies were taken away in an ambulance.
Ironworkers at the site could be seen hugging each other around 5 a.m. as the second ambulance pulled away.
The demolition and recovery marked a critical step following the deadly partial collapse of the garage, which had been under construction for Children's Hospital of Philadelphia. It was being built to expand CHOP employee parking.
Officials say the site will now transition into the next phase of investigation to determine what went wrong.
Mayor Parker also signed an executive order directing the city solicitor and law department to conduct an independent, comprehensive investigation into the collapse.
HSC Builders and Construction was the general contractor for the project. The company has been the subject of OSHA inspections a handful of times in the last decade -- none of those inspections have resulted in violations.
"Our immediate mission is to do whatever we can to aid the deceased workers and their families," HSC said in a statement.
"We continue to gather all relevant information to better understand what caused the failure. We will provide updates as additional information becomes available," the company continued.
Parker also said last week that all permits needed had been properly issued and all inspections were up to date.
Philadelphia attorney Ken Fulginiti, who has worked on many cases involving structural collapses, says those processes all still need to be investigated
"There are some very good companies that make mistakes, just like there are with anything. There's very good doctors that make mistakes. There's very good drivers that make mistakes. So the fact that the permits were pulled, I mean, these are bare minimum things," said Fulginiti.
He says a potential red flag may be the use of precast concrete.
"There's so much that can go wrong with concrete, everything from you know, how long they cure it, whether there's too much sand, not enough sand, if there's too much oil, not enough oil," Fulginiti explained.
Roads in the surrounding area will remain closed while the investigation continues.
