House Collapses On Two Men Renovating Hurricane Harvey Home

HOUSTON, TX — Two men who were working to restore a family's home damaged during Hurricane Harvey were killed when the home collapsed, crush both men to death.

The accident happened shortly before 11 a.m. Thrsday in the 5400 block of Olana in northeast Houston.

Investigators said the men were attempting to lift the home with a jack, when the house collapsed, KTRK reported.

Rescue crews fro the Eastex Fire Department responded to the scene and had to use airbags to get access to the bodies of both men.

Harris County had not issued a permit to have the home elevated, but had issued a permit last month for residential flood recovery, which allows the home to be restored to pre-flood condition.

According to a Houston Chronicle report, the home previously flooded in 2001 during Tropical Storm Allison, but the homeowner wasn't permitted by the city to raise the home then because the damage exceeded the value of the home.

The incident is under investigation.

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