The roof of the Korean Union United Methodist Church in 446 West Grand Avenue in Rahway, NJ came crashing down during the Easter service and initially left more than a dozen people trapped, Union County spokesman Sebastian Delia said.
The incident took place on Sunday evening, 5th April around 1:20 p.m. while the Easter service was in full sway and the Congregants were singing. People on scene reported that they heard a cracking sound above them and suddenly, the roof tumbled down.
According to NJ, 15 people were injured and thus, conducted to Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital in Rahway for treatment.
The parishioners were members of the Manatial de Vida Pentecostal congregation, which rents out the church. People began screaming and running for cover as the debris began falling, NJ.com says, some people were later seen outside the church, covered in dust. The church was evacuated after the mishap.
Elizabeth Fire Department's technical rescue team was conducting an assessment of the collapsed structure till late afternoon on Sunday, Sebastian Delia said.
Police Chief John Rodger said that one woman taken to University Hospital suffered a serious laceration in the head. Also, there was one critically injured person who could not be immediately identified.
Donna Mancuso, a hospital spokeswoman informed, "One or two people seemed to have serious injuries and the rest were not so seriously injured." As of Sunday evening, all of the people taken to hospital had been discharged, she told.
The cause behind the roof falling has not been unravelled yet, though fortunately, none of the injuries were considered life-threatening.
A cellphone video published on CBS New York shows the interior damage to the church.