At Least 11 Hurt in Ohio Casino Construction Collapse

CINCINNATI (AP) — A partial collapse at the site of the city's new casino sent at least 11 people to the hospital with minor injuries, authorities said Friday.

A 30-foot by 50-foot section of floor collapsed just before 8 a.m. at the site of the Horseshoe Casino Cincinnati under construction downtown, said Lt. Maurice Robinson, a police department spokesman.

"A single bay of the facility collapsed as concrete was being poured. All workers were accounted for," said Steve Rosenthal, of casino co-developer Rock Gaming LLC, in a statement.

Roads around the casino were closed by police, and reporters were not allowed close enough to get a look at what had fallen down.

Jessie Folmar, a spokeswoman for Cincinnati-based Messer Construction Co., said the company was on site trying to learn what happened.

Robinson said 11 injured were taken to hospitals, while fire department spokeswoman Jennifer Spieser said 13 were. She didn't know the nature of the injuries or whether others may have been hurt and treated at the scene.

The casino is being developed by Rock Gaming in partnership with Caesar's Entertainment. The same team is behind a casino project in downtown Cleveland where a garage partially collapsed on Dec. 16. A 60-foot by 60-foot second-level section of the parking deck gave way while concrete was being poured. No one was injured.

Casino development was touted during a statewide legalization campaign in 2009 for the immediate boost it would give to Ohio's economy, particularly through the temporary construction jobs needed to build the four new facilities in Cleveland, Cincinnati, Columbus and Toledo. According to a recent report from the Associated General Contractors of America, construction jobs indeed rose in Ohio this past year — from 163,400 in December 2010 to 168,600 last month.

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Associated Press reporters Doug Whiteman and Julie Carr Smyth in Columbus and John Seewer in Toledo contributed to this report.

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