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VANCOUVER — Emergency crews are on scene in Â鶹´«Ã½Ó³»­where a rooftop parking lot has collapsed into office space below, injuring several people.

Â鶹´«Ã½Ó³»­Fire Chief Karen Fry tweeted crews had pulled eight people from the rubble, with at least two sent to hospital.

Asst. Chief Dan Moberg says structural supports have been set up to allow crews to remove debris and search the building for others, which is expected to take several hours.

That step had to wait for engineers to assess the damage created when an area of about nine by 12 metres caved in around 1 p.m. 

Moberg says construction involving drilling on a section of the parking lot was underway when it collapsed. 

The incident has closed Lougheed Highway between Rupert Street and Boundary Road, a major route for traffic. 

Emergency Health Services says the two patients were transported to hospital. It did not provide details on their condition.

Moberg says about 30 firefighters attended the scene alongside police, while EHS said four paramedic ground units responded. 

Â鶹´«Ã½Ó³»­Police declined to comment, saying it's an unfolding incident with multiple agencies responding and it will provide updates when it has more specific information. 

WorkSafeBC, the provincial workers' safety agency, says it has launched an investigation to identify the cause of the incident, including contributing factors.

_ By Amy Smart with files from Hina Alam in Vancouver.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 14, 2022. 

Amy Smart, The Canadian Press