Building collapse closes off properties in downtown São Paulo.
A man died when a building facade collapsed on Avenida Liberdade; following the accident, Civil Defense closed a snack bar, parking lot, and part of the street until an inspection by technicians, scheduled for today.
Daniel Mello
Reporter from Agência Brasil
São Paulo – Due to the collapse of the facade of a building on Avenida Liberdade, in the central region of the São Paulo capital, a snack bar, a parking lot and part of the road had to be closed. The accident, which occurred early in the evening yesterday (28), killed a man identified by the Military Police as Marco Antonio, an employee of the company Global Solution.
The Civil Defense coordinator, Jair Paca, said that the closures are necessary to guarantee safety. According to him, technicians from the agency will carry out an inspection of the closed properties tomorrow (1st), but that apparently they do not present any compromise.
The Fire Department conducted three searches with sniffer dogs in the rubble, but no other victims were found. Around 21:30 PM, the power to the area was shut off so that a manual search could be carried out. Firefighters were still at the scene as of 22:15 PM.
Law student Alexandre Hage, who studies at a college across from the collapsed building, witnessed the accident. “I heard a crack from across the street. Then I looked at the building and the upper part started to crack and blocks began to fall into the middle of the street. About 15 people were on the other side trying to cross towards the college. In the interval between the first crack and the collapse, that's when people managed to run out,” he said.
Photos: Felipe Gonçalves/247