Nearly 40 injured in Houston-area building collapse

[June 27, 2014]  AUSTIN Texas (Reuters) - Nearly 40 people were injured on Thursday when the ceiling of a garage apartment crashed down on Thursday onto about 100 people who had gathered for a religious event at a Houston-area residence, fire officials said.

Three people were seriously hurt but most of the other injuries were scrapes and bruises caused when the floor of the apartment above gave way and broke in Katy, west of Houston, they said.

Rescue crews set up a triage area on the front lawn of the house on a cul-de-sac where numerous emergency vehicles were ferrying victims to local hospitals.

"The floor gave way," Houston Fire Department Senior Captain Ruy Lozano told the Houston Chronicle. "It looked like it bowed."

(Reporting by Jon Herskovitz; Editing by Sandra Maler)

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