Floor Collapses in Maplewood Restaurant

1 person was killed and another injured in the Friday morning internal collapse of a restaurant in Maplewood.

Aerial view of Cola Restaurant in Maplewood following internal collapse (CBS New York)

The victim, a construction worker, was declared dead at the scene after the collapse of the floor inside the Coda Coda Kitchen and Bar on Maplewood Avenue.

"There were two construction workers trapped," Maplewood Deputy Fire Chief Joe Callaghan told ABC 7. "One of the construction workers was extricated by fire personnel. He is now being treated at University Hospital. His condition is serious. Unfortunately, the second construction worker was dead on arrival." He said a third worker was not hurt.

“The first floor collapsed into the basement,” Maplewood Fire Deputy Chief Joseph Callaghan told CBS New York. “He was trapped under some wooden beams and there was a side collapse from the walls that was rock and dirt.”

The restaurant, one of several businesses in the building, was not open at the time of the collapse of the first floor into the basement according to ABC 7 which reports the building is not in danger of collapsing. News 12 New Jersey reports OSHA is en route.

Callaghan says it's not clear what the workers were doing when the floor above the basement apparently collapsed. CBS New York, however, reports the workers were putting in a staircase. “Basically, what they were doing is building stairs down to the basement from inside the restaurant,” Maplewood resident Lee Navlen said told CBS New York. “They have to go outside to get to the basement, so it’s been a big construction job.”