Al Della Fave, a spokesman with the Ocean County Prosecutor's Office, said the incident happened while the shopping center, located on Route 9, was being demolished.
UPDATE: Victim in roof collapse identified, OSHA to investigate
BERKELEY -- Authorities are investigating the death of a construction worker at the Beachwood Shopping Center on Thursday.
At around 2:15 p.m., Berkeley police responded to the plaza for a report of a partial building collapse and a construction worker possibly trapped, police said.
Rescue crews located the worker after searching through the debris of a collapsed roof, police said.
Al Della Fave, a spokesman with the Ocean County Prosecutor's Office, said the incident happened while the shopping center, located on Route 9, was being demolished.
"During that demolition process, somehow there was a collapse and that worker was killed," he said.
No additional information about the incident, including the identification of the worker, was available, Della Fave said.
Shortly after 4 p.m., several law enforcement officers and investigators were at the scene. The Bayville Fire Department, Bayville First Aid and paramedics also responded to the scene, police said.
It appeared as if the roof collapsed on the southern end of the building. Berkeley detectives, the Ocean County Prosecutor's Office, Ocean County Sheriff's Department and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) are leading the investigation.
Demolition on the building started last month.
Alex Napoliello may be reached at anapoliello@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @alexnapoNJ. Find NJ.com on Facebook.