15 rescued in massive blaze in SouthPark neighborhood

Firefighters in North Carolina rescued at least 15 people including a crane operator Thursday after a four-alarm fire involving injuries broke out at a construction site near downtown Charlotte, first responders said.

The Charlotte Fire Department reported it responded to a structure fire call before 10 a.m. ET in the city’s SouthPark neighborhood. About 10:30 a.m., the department tweeted it was on scene of the four-alarm fire on Liberty Row Drive and was asking people to avoid the area.

The crane operator, among the 15 people rescued by firefighters, was being treated by local EMS for non life-threatening injuries, the department said just before 2 p.m. ET.

According to a construction foreman on scene, the department said, two construction workers were unaccounted for.

As of about 2:15 p.m. ET, crews remained on scene battling the blaze and it was not immediately known if anyone else was injured.

Photos tweeted by the department show flames and heavy black smoke shooting out of what appears to be a residential building under construction as crews attempt to battle the blaze.

The area is about six miles south of downtown Charlotte.

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The blaze also involved a building in a construction zone which partially collapsed, the Charlotte Observer reported.

For more than an hour, firefighters were attempting to help the crane operator trapped on a construction crane surrounded by the blazing structure, the outlet reported, citing emergency radio. The man was reported safe shortly before 11 a.m.

What is Charlotte’s SouthPark neighborhood?

SouthPark, home to a large shopping mall, is an “upscale neighborhood” with “high-end” restaurants and boutiques, according to travel website Charlotte’s Got a Lot.

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