Search underway after church collapses in Connecticut town

NEW LONDON, Connecticut -- Part of a church collapsed in downtown New London, Connecticut, on Thursday afternoon.

It appears the steeple of the church collapsed into the rest of the building around 1:30 p.m.

"We are grateful no one was hurt," Officials with Engaging Heaven Church New London said in a statement. "The building is destroyed. The Church is thriving and strong."

The public is asked to stay away from the area around Union, Masonic, State, Eugene ONeill, and Gov. Winthrop Blvd.

Search and rescue teams were combing through the debris, but it did not appear there were any major injuries.

"So far we don't believe there are any injuries, they have the Urban Search and Rescue team on their way because they're trained in this stuff, we have the state search dogs coming in," said New London Mayor Michael Passero.

There is no word on what may have caused the collapse.

The mayor said he believes at this point the entire building will need to be demolished.

Gov. Ned Lamont said he has deployed state emergency services personnel and equipment to help assist in response efforts.