RIYADH, 19 January 2005 — Three workers were seriously injured when a three-story commercial building, which was under construction, collapsed in Riyadh yesterday afternoon.
The building, located at Takhassussi Street close to the intersection with Sultan ibn Abdul Aziz Street, crashed with a loud noise turning into a large pile of rubble and reinforcement steel.
Eyewitnesses said that at about 3 p.m., a terrifying noise was heard before the whole area was shrouded in dust clouds. Expatriates working in the vicinity rushed to rescue the laborers who were on site when the building came down.
Civil defense and rescue teams sealed off the area bringing in equipment to cut steel bars and dig out people presumed buried under the debris.
Some Arab and Asian workers residing in the adjacent building told Arab News that two months ago, they had observed structural deformity in different parts of the building. As they were concerned for their safety, their sponsor had warned the owner and the contractor several times to get it repaired. Civil Defense officials had visited the building about a month ago.
“Two weeks ago the owner started demolishing the concrete structure from top story using 4-6 laborers with pneumatic vibrating compressors, but the building suddenly collapsed into a heap of sand and steel,” neighborhood residents added.
Neither the owner nor the contractor could be reached for comment on engineering codes and standards used in either constructing or demolishing the building.
