Building under renovation work implodes onto neighbouring property
An elderly couple was buried under rubble in the early hours of this morning as the building next door to their apartment collapsed.
The pair were rapidly rescued, and are now being treated in hospital. Their injuries have been described as ‘minor’.
But the incident has left them, their daughter and granddaughter living in the same building homeless – and once again highlights the dangers of certain construction sites in the capital.
In this case, the building in Calçada da Picheleira, in the Beato area, was in the throes of renovation works. Shortly after 1 this morning, it ‘collapsed’ onto the first floor of the building next door in which four people, the two injured pensioners, and their family members, were in their beds.
Rescuers were still at the scene at 6.45 this morning, by which time the injured couple had been transported to São José hospital.
The daughter and granddaughter were uninjured, according to municipal Civil Protection chief Margarida Castro Martins, but the building they called home is no longer habitable. An inspection is being conducted this morning to decide what works will need to be done.
In the meantime, the owners of four parked cars found they too have damages to deal with.
As to the causes of this latest building collapse, Ms Martins said it was “too early” to say. Priority this morning is “accompanying the clinical evolution of those injured, and the family that was rendered homeless, and to proceed as quickly as possible with the clean-up and removal of debris.
Rescue teams have also been on the site with drones and sniffer dogs to ensure there are no further victims under in the rubble.
Source material: LUSA/ SIC Notícias
