Two houses that have stood in Chelsea for over 200 years have completely collapsed, reportedly during construction of a mega-basement. Neighbours heard a huge bang as the properties crashed to the ground in the middle of the night. This morning firefighters were on the scene with sniffer dogs searching to see if anybody was under the rubble at the £6 million property. Around 40 people from nearby buildings have been evacuated, with images from the scene showing how the mid-terrace properties have completely fallen down.
A neighbour told MailOnline: ‘There was just a huge thud. I thought it was thunder but there was only the one loud thud. It wasn’t until the morning on my way to work that I saw the building had collapsed. There were lots of police and the road was sealed off. ‘Workmen have been there for weeks excavating a basement. I don’t think anyone was in the property at the time but it is going to be very expensive to fix.’
London Fire Brigade Station Commander Jason Jones, who was at the scene, said: ‘There was a total collapse of the building from the roof to ground level. ‘Firefighters worked to make the scene safe and our drone team carried out a search. ‘A police search dog also carried out an external search of the building and at this stage, there are no reports of any injuries. Nobody is thought to have been inside the building at the time of the collapse. ‘Local road closures will remain in place this morning.’
A Metropolitan Police spokesperson said: ‘Police were called at 2325hrs on Monday, 2 November, to reports of a building collapsed in Durham Place, SW3. ‘The occupants of neighbouring properties have been evacuated as a precaution. ‘At this stage, there are no reported injuries and nobody is thought to have been inside the building. ‘Emergency services remain at the scene.’
Source: Metro.co.uk
