By Trevor Boyer For Dailymail.com

Published: 12:41 EDT, 6 October 2020 | Updated: 13:22 EDT, 6 October 2020

The bodies of three workers who perished when a stairwell at a Houston construction site collapsed will not be recovered until the structure is deemed safe to enter — and that might take several days, fire officials said. 

The collapse happened around 1:30 p.m. local time Monday in a 15-story skyscraper, set to become the headquarters of Marathon Oil when it opens. An interior concrete stairwell collapsed, starting at the 13th or 14th floor. 

A fourth worker was listed in stable condition after being injured in the collapse and taken to a local hospital, said the Houston Fire Department.

As of Tuesday officials are awaiting word that recovery crews can safely enter the structure to recover the three bodies from the rubble. 

The building, which was under construction, is near the intersection of Interstate 10 and the Beltway in west Houston

The 15-story skyscraper where the bodies of three workers are stuck is part of Marathon Oil's One MRO project building, which is expected to serve as the Houston-based company's headquarters 

'All we know is they were working in or around that stair area, and they are currently in the debris field, unable to be recovered because of the instability of that structure,' said Assistant Fire Chief Ruy Lozano.

'It is far too early to determine what's the structural cause,' he said. 'But I can tell you anytime there's a primary collapse, our biggest concern is a second collapse.'

'That's why we're not permitting any other rescuers until we can confirm the stability of the structure.' 

A fire department captain said the recovery plan involves a crane that will remove large chunks of the collapsed stairwell through openings in the roof of the structure, according to Click2Houston.com. 

Workers had just returned from their lunch break Monday afternoon when a troubling noise erupted. 

'Out of nowhere I hear a loud banging sound, and it sounded like a building was collapsing,' construction worker Chris Mercado told Click2Houston.com. 

'All you see is a bunch of smoke,' he said. 

Houston fire officials said it might be several days before the structure is deemed safe enough for recovery crews to retrieve the bodies of the deceased workers

Workers had just returned from their lunch break Monday when they heard a troubling 'banging' 

All 240 workers at the construction site Monday during the collapse have been accounted for

The other 240 workers at the site have been accounted for, according to KHOU. 

The building is part of Marathon Oil's One MRO project building in west Houston, in the 990 block of Town and Country Boulevard near the southeast corner of I-10 and Beltway 8, which began construction earlier this year. 

The City of Houston inspected the structure Friday and found no issues or complaints. 

Harvey Builders said in a statement Monday: 'Harvey Builders is working with the Houston Fire Department, our subcontractor East Texas Precast, and Hines, the project's development manager, to investigate a fatal accident involving the collapse of a stairway on the construction site of the future Houston headquarters of Marathon Oil.

'Construction is an inherently dangerous activity and in recognition of this Harvey and its subcontractors observe very strict protocols on every project. 

'Our thoughts and deepest sympathies are with each of the families involved during this difficult time.'

General contractors Harvey Builders said they are working with the Houston Fire Department to investigate the fatal collapse

Marathon Oil also released a statement Monday, which read: 'We are saddened to learn that an accident occurred at the construction site for the future Houston headquarters of Marathon Oil.

'We extend our deepest sympathies to the families of those contractors who were affected and thank the first responders. 

'We have offered our assistance to the building contractors as they respond to this accident.'

As of Tuesday officials had not yet released names, ages, or genders of the three deceased workers or the injured worker, pending family notification. 

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