New Orleans Hard Rock hotel under construction collapses; at least 1 dead, multiple injured

A Hard Rock Hotel and Casino building under construction in downtown New Orleans partially collapsed on Saturday, killing at least one person and injuring several.

Gov. John Bel Edwards confirmed the fatality to reporters near the scene, saying there were several people unaccounted for. 

"This remains a very fluid and dangerous situation and every few minutes something is falling," he said, warning people to stay away.

The New Orleans Fire Department Chief Tim McConnell said they received a call about the fallen building around 9:14 a.m. Saturday morning. He said the top six floors of the building collapsed and that the rest of the construction is still "very unstable."

He confirmed that one person died and at least three people are still missing. At least 18 people were taken to the hospital. Their conditions were not immediately known.

"It's still a very dangerous situation," he said. "The crane is still in place but it is unsupported and very dangerous. We are in the process of evacuating the buildings in the perimeter."

The building collapse was caught in a dramatic video.

“Please avoid the area & listen to public safety officials,” the New Orleans Office of Homeland Security said on Twitter.

The cause wasn't immediately known.

"It sounded like a -- I don't know how to describe it -- like a building coming down," said Matt Worges, according to Nola.com. He witnessed the collapse from a Tulane School of Public Health classroom in a nearby building.

"It looked like the concrete just slid from the top all the way down to the street," Worges said. "The concrete just started to slide down the side."

The development calls for 350 hotel rooms and condominiums. Plans were unveiled last year.

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