HOUSTON – A woman was injured after a partial building collapsed on top of her at the Downtown Aquarium on Friday.
Houston Fire Department Deputy Chief Douglas Harrison said her injuries were non-life threatening after the building façade above the ticket booths came crashing down just before 8 p.m.
“That is a waterfall, and there’s a pool above that that collects water, so we’re thinking that that has something to do with it,” Harrison said.
Witnesses shared photos with KPRC 2 and said the woman appeared to be in a lot of pain and had blood coming down her arms.
“Kind of shocked when we walked out and we just saw a lady laying there and her husband sitting there trying to help her but there’s only so much someone can do,” witness Kyle Etter said.
Crews cleaned up the rubble by 10 p.m. Friday. Harrison said the aquarium exhibit is now closed but the restaurant will remain open.
He said fire officials are not concerned about the rest of the building and that structural engineers will investigate the specifics of what happened.
KPRC 2 reached out Friday night to the public relations firm that represents the Downtown Aquarium, which is owned by Landry’s. They released the following statement below:
“We are not exactly sure what happened at the Downtown Aquarium this evening, but are committed to fully investigating. We immediately reached out to the family of the impacted individual and are doing what we can to support them. We have cleaned the area and our development team is committed to understanding what happened. The Downtown Aquarium will reopen tomorrow.”