Presov: Apartment Building Damaged By Explosion to Be Entirely Demolished

Presov: Apartment Building Damaged By Explosion to Be Entirely Demolished

Presov, December 17 (TASR) – The apartment building in Presov devastated by the gas explosion on December 6 will need to be taken down completely, structural engineer Jozef Polak confirmed at a press briefing on Tuesday.

The specialised Czech firm plans to complete the demolition of the entire building on Wednesday (December 18).

“When we were demolishing the upper floors, damaged in the fire, everything kept caving in. More ceilings collapsed, so we convened a crisis team for a quick check. We decided definitively that there’s nothing to save; it’s all so damaged that we’re simply taking it down entirely. From the structural point of view, it’s a no-brainer,” stated Polak.

The apartment building will be razed down to ground level. According to city mayor Andrea Turcanova, personal belongings of the inhabitants are mostly destroyed and access to the building is not possible.

“We really bore witness that when the machine tore down one wall, completely different parts also began to fall down. Lower floors took heavy damage as well – the apartments were full of detritus and various materials that had dropped down from upper floors. Today we know that the entire block must go,” she added.