Worker Killed in High Rise Condo Balcony Collapse

A balcony on a high rise condominium on the New Jersey shore collapsed onto a lower balcony, killing a construction worker, authorities said.

Officials in Sea Isle City said the eighth-floor balcony at the Spinnaker condominium collapsed onto the seventh-floor balcony shortly before 2:30 p.m. Friday. One worker was trapped and two others sustained minor injuries at the nine-story complex, which was built in the 1970s, officials said.

Jose Pereira, 43, of Philadelphia, a contractor working on the outside of the building, died after being pinned under a concrete slab, officials said. Rescuers had to stabilize the balcony and cut through reinforced concrete on the outside wall to reach him, after which he was pronounced dead shortly before 10 p.m. Friday, police said.

The building was evacuated. Police said all of the balconies are being stabilized and private engineers will then evaluate both Spinnaker buildings.

Sea Isle police and the Cape May County prosecutor’s office are investigating, as is the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration.