Two Buffalo firefighters killed as burning store collapses

PHOTOGRAPHER: The Associated Press

Officials in Buffalo say two firefighters have been killed when the first floor of a burning convenience store collapsed into the basement.

The Rev. Derren Young, chaplain at the Erie County Medical Center, says the firefighters’ bodies were recovered this morning and will be taken to the hospital. A police spokesman says authorities still can’t confirm reports of a third person missing in the basement of the two-story building.

Firefighters lined up and took off their helmets, some saluting, as gurneys carrying the bodies were brought out. Weeping and distraught people gathered behind police tape across the street were escorted from the scene.

There’s no immediate information on a possible cause of the fire and the names of the victims have not been released.