HOUSTON -- A massive amount of rain was blamed for a fatal roof collapse at a southeast Houston grocery store -- one of two collapses that occurred during severe weather on Thursday.
One person was killed and another was injured when part of a roof collapsed at the Randalls store on Clear Lake City Boulevard at Space Center Boulevard shortly before noon, officials said.
Investigators said the roof in the storage and loading dock area in the back part of the store collapsed onto two men.
A Randalls employee was pulled out of the rubble after he was trapped by ceiling debris and a metal beam. He was rushed to Memorial Hermann Hospital with serious injuries.
The body of a second victim was recovered after an exhaustive search, officials said.
"That whole area back there -- that whole roof nearly pancaked down. And this is a concrete, tent-wall constructed building, metal trusses. And on top of that, you have corrugated tin. And on top of that, you have concrete. And on top of that you have asphalt shingles. We had to cut all that away," a Houston fire investigator said.
The victims' names were not released. The fatality was a vendor dropping off supplies, according to Randalls' officials.
"It's been a devastating day," said Dawne Proffitt, Randalls' spokeswoman.
Randalls said it will make sure the store is safe before it reopens for business.
"That's our utmost concern -- safety of our employees and customers," Proffitt said.
Rain pounded the Clear Lake area for hours, causing investigators to believe that the weight of the rain forced the roof to fall. An investigation is under way.
Another roof collapse occurred at the old Maxwell House Coffee Co. warehouse building in the 4000 block of Harrisburg Boulevard at Hunt.
Several employees were inside at the time, but they were able to make it out safely.
No injuries were reported there.
The area was evacuated as a precaution.
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