A collapsed façade at a commercial building in Temple City trapped six people inside two businesses for more than an hour Wednesday, according to the Los Angeles County Fire Department.
The collapse was reported shortly after 4 p.m. in the 9400 block of East Las Tunas Drive, where a 50-foot-long piece of the building fell, trapping five people in a salon and one person in a cleaners.
While there were no injuries from the collapse, officials had to remove the debris before those trapped inside could exit, the department said.
“We have communication with them inside the building. We are talking with them and we are planning on debris removal of what has collapsed to rescue the civilians inside,” a Fire Department official said in a video posted to a Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department Twitter page.
By about 5:30 p.m., those trapped had been freed, the Fire Department announced.
At least two people trapped inside described the moments preceding the collapse as something similar to an earthquake.
The cause of the collapse is under investigation and building inspectors were expected to arrive at the strip mall Thursday.
Currently, there’s no timeline for when the affected businesses will be able to reopen.