Building in Presov to Be Demolished by Machinery from Czech Republic

Presov, December 11 (TASR) – Machinery from the Czech Republic, which will demolish the upper floors of the apartment building in Presov devastated by a gas explosion last Friday, is on its way, said mayor of Presov Andrea Turcanova during a session of the city council on Wednesday.

“The machine is coming from the Czech Republic, as, unfortunately, we haven’t found one with a 67-metre arm in Slovakia or anywhere closer to our city. It’s forbidden to get close to the apartment building because it might collapse. This is the only machine that has a sufficiently long arm actually to demolish the apartment building,” said Turcanova.

“We’re communicating with a structural engineer, but also with an expert in the field of structural stability regarding whether it will be necessary to demolish the whole apartment building or just the damaged parts … There’s no staircase, there are no shafts, so repairs will be very costly. At the same time, we must also communicate with insurance companies because it’s people’s property,” noted Turcanova.

The city has received €1 million from the Government, partly for stabilising the building. If necessary, the Government is ready to increase the amount.

By Tuesday (December 10) more than €2.2 million had been deposited in the bank account via which people can donate money to those affected by the tragic gas blast.

The gas exploded in one of the flats in the 12-storey apartment building. The accident claimed seven lives, while one person is still missing.