2 killed in Philadelphia building collapse

Rescue workers rush a victim to an ambulance

PHILADELPHIA -- The co-owner of a store and a worker renovating apartments above it were killed Monday in Philadelphia when a three-story building collapsed.

Rescuers searching through debris Monday afternoon found the body of Robert Scherer, 39, a construction worker, who police reported missing immediately following the collapse. Earlier, they had found the body of Adolf Stahl, co-owner of a variety store on the ground floor of the building.

No other victims were thought to be under the rubble, police said.

Several workers were apparently renovating apartments above the variety store when the floor they were on collapsed, trapping at least five people.

Two people walked away on their own while firefighters rescued another man. He was in fair condition at Hahnemann University Hospital, police said.

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Stahl's wife, Faith, was able to get out on her own, authorities said. The couple owned the shop, Aunt Louisa's Variety Store, and lived above it.

"They were going to retire," the Stahls' daughter, Cecelia Driscoll, said tearfully. She said renovations were being made to the 57-year-old store.

The building housed apartments on the top two floors, where the Stahls lived.

A neighbor, Marie Brennan, said the store was a fixture in the South Philadelphia neighborhood. The owners were planning to close most of the store and sell only a few items, such as lottery tickets, from a window, Brennan said.

"They were talking about how great their lives were going to be," Brennan said.

Chief Henry Dolberry of the Philadelphia Fire Department said the workers were on the third floor. "The floor that they were working on collapsed, then the back of the property itself totally collapsed," he said.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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Hahnemann University Hospital

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