What you need to know about the parking garage collapse in Grays Ferry

The City of Philadelphia is continuing to provide information and updates to the public about the April 8, 2026, tragic collapse of a seven-story corner tower of a parking garage that was under construction for the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia at 30th and Grays Ferry Avenue. Tragically, one worker was pronounced deceased on the day of the collapse, and two additional workers are presumed deceased after an extensive search continues.

The names of the individuals have not been released; however, Mayor Parker and her team have been in touch with their families and are offering support. All three men are members of Philadelphia's Iron Workers Union Local 401.

Mayor Cherelle L. Parker asks the community to please keep the families of these workers in your prayers and has directed that all flags across Philadelphia be lowered to half-staff in honor of the Ironworkers we have lost in the South Philadelphia garage collapse.

Operations updates

• Monitoring is continuous at the site. Rescue efforts, led by the Philadelphia Fire Department (PFD), are proceeding at a careful pace given the structure's unstable condition. PFD has utilized local and regional assets to assist in the search; this includes robots, drones, live detection canines, and human remains detection dogs.

• The Office of Emergency Management maintains a presence on site to coordinate the response, fill unmet needs of residents and businesses, host interagency meetings, and develop public information and messaging.

• A controlled demolition of the structure at 3000 Grays Ferry Avenue is expected to begin this afternoon, Friday, April 10. There will be increased activity around the site that will most likely include loud noise. Residents and businesses in the area are asked to avoid the scene and close windows during the process. Specific details are not yet confirmed, given multiple factors that will affect the timeline.

• The community will see more equipment coming to the site, including a second crane with a wrecking ball.

• The site's general contractor, HSC Builders and Construction Managers, continues to prepare the site for the next phase of operations as they receive equipment to support operations.

• When complete, removal of debris and search and recovery for those unaccounted for will begin.

• OSHA is leading the investigation to determine exactly what happened. Strong intergovernmental collaboration with PEMA, the PA Dept. Of Environmental Protection, the PA Department of Labor & Industry, and Philadelphia Gas Works.

• The Department of Licenses and Inspections- Inspections, Safety and Compliance (L&I ISC) and the site construction contractor are canvassing the target residential areas.

Community and traffic updates

• Traffic remains rerouted from the scene since the site is an active and dangerous emergency operation, and the shopping center remains closed to the community until it is safe to allow people into the parking lot area.

• The City of Philadelphia Department of Commerce Mayor's Business Action Team continues to be on site and can be contacted with any questions at 215-683-2100 or [email protected].  The City is offering an Emergency Grant program to businesses that are unable to open due to the Grays Ferry parking garage collapse. 

• The Department of Commerce funds and partners with The Merchants Fund on the emergency grant programto support businesses facing hardship due to qualifying events (such as fire, natural disasters, extreme acts of physical vandalism, utility failures, or business disruptions due to public works).

Street closures and detours

• Grays Ferry Avenue is closed from 34th Street to 28th Street.

• All intersections along this stretch are blocked.

• No pedestrian or vehicular traffic is permitted within the closure perimeter.

• 28th Street remains open to traffic.

• 34th Street (northbound and southbound) remains open to traffic.

• The shopping center within the closure area is currently closed.

• Traffic patterns and restrictions remain in place at this time.

Updates will be provided as they become available.

Where the community can get information

The Philadelphia Police Department's Office of Community Advocacy and Engagement (CAE) is on-site and available by phone if residents need to be connected to community resources or need counseling. Residents can contact the CAE team at 215-686-0061.

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If anyone who lives in the immediate neighborhood needs trauma care, please call DBHIDS at 988.

Air quality information during demolition

The Philadelphia Health Department has been on-site, monitoring the air quality surrounding the garage, in addition to the two nearest BreathePhilly monitors. There have been no recorded spikes in pollution so far. Health Department staff will continue to assist with recovery efforts and make sure that the air in the vicinity of the garage remains safe.

You can check the air quality in your community, including in Grays Ferry, by visiting BreathePhilly. On that site, you can set up notifications for monitors in your community that will alert you about worsening air quality.