One man was killed and two others injured when a portion of a structure being built at Mount Vernon Missionary Baptist Church collapsed Thursday, fatally entrapping a construction worker.

The Clinton Fire Department, the Sampson County Sheriff’s Office and Sampson County EMS responded to Mount Vernon shortly before 4:30 p.m. Thursday following a call of a building collapse, according to Sheriff’s Capt. Eric Pope.

Investigators said workers with Clifton Halso Inc. General Contractors out of Chinquapin were putting up trusses when a large section of the structure’s front portion fell on top of them.

One man, a Hispanic male, was pronounced dead at the scene. The man was reportedly walking beneath a section of the rafters when it fell.

Two others were transported to Sampson Regional Medical Center, one of which after the helicopter airlifting him was diverted. The names of the three men are being withheld pending notification of their family members, Pope said. The extent of the injuries sustained by the other two men were not immediately known.

The Sheriff’s Office was processing the scene, and was being assisted in its investigation by the N.C. Department of Labor.

Tony Rackley, chairman of the church’s board of deacons, and Ray Gainey, chairman of the church’s Building and Planning Committee, were at the church Thursday afternoon and into the evening, working closely with investigators.

“It’s really bad, really, really bad,” Rackley said.

The church, located at 3790 Faison Highway (N.C. 403) was in the process of building a new sanctuary, according to church members.

Rackley said he did not want to speculate as to what caused the collapse, but stated a thorough investigation would be conducted. Gainey said he was “shocked” by the occurrence. The church had begun construction on the new sanctuary in November, he said.