The Nation - News from Oct. 25, 1988

A section of a six-story building in Manhattan’s garment district collapsed, injuring at least nine people, possibly trapping others and forcing suspension of train service for tens of thousands of commuters. The injuries were described as minor, but rescuers were searching for two other people who were believed to be in the building when the west wall and the interior structure collapsed, fire officials said. Two people who earlier were thought to be in the building were accounted for. Officials halted subway trains and commuter lines operating out of nearby Pennsylvania Station for more than an hour because of fears that vibrations from the trains could cause the rest of the building to fall and to prevent noise from drowning out the cries of anyone trapped. Trains later were allowed to travel at 10 m.p.h. The cause of the collapse was not immediately known.