Video: North Carolina firefighters battling massive construction site fire

CHARLOTTE, N.C. —

Two construction workers are missing after a massive, five-alarm fire at an apartment complex under construction in the South Park area of Charlotte, North Carolina.

Thick, black smoke could be seen for miles Thursday morning.

Firefighters say it took more than 90 firefighters to fight the flames and 15 construction workers were rescued from the building.

"It was huge," said Kate Simmons, who lives in South Park. "The pictures were just terrifying."

Video below: Massive fire at construction site in Charlotte near SouthPark

A plume of thick, black smoke took over Charlotte skies Thursday morning, coming from a construction site that caught fire in the South Park area. That's right by South Park Mall.

"I saw the building in flames," said construction worker Alejandro Quiroja. "I saw the building coming down. It was scary."

Quiroja is one of about 100 construction workers that's been tending to the site since January. He says the first started on the second floor, he was on the first floor at the time.

"They started getting out and screaming, 'Get out, get out!' Because the building was on fire," Quiroja said.

Quiroja said the flames took over quickly. Within an hour, the entire building had caught fire.

"It was just scary," he said.

Video below: More video of the Charlotte fire

Those who live and work nearby could do nothing but watch and wait, hoping and praying for the best.

"We saw a big plume of black smoke around 9:15 this morning, so we started walking over from the office," said Caroline Dollard, who works in the South Park area. "And we saw big, big yellow flames shooting up from this apartment building."

"It's really sad," Simmons said. "I see all these gentlemen sitting out here, and I am just hoping they and all their friends and workers got out safely."

More than 90 firefighters heroically rescued 15 workers from the construction site, including one on a crane at the top.

"We rescued 15 people from the fire," said Charlotte Fire Department Chief Reginald Johnson. "And the men and women of this department put themselves in harm's way and had to call for assistance themselves to get out of this fire. That's how fast it was moving."

The cause of the fire remains under investigation.

Johnson told media crews Thursday there were even several 'maydays' involved in the rescue. That's when crews get trapped or have access issues escaping due to how quickly the fire is moving.