Ōtautahi / Christchurch Daily Photo

This is the Copthorne Hotel on Colombo Street opposite Victoria Square. It was being demolished today when something went wrong. The building collapsed or ‘pancaked’ and the demo workers had to make a run for it. Fortunately, no one was hurt, but I’m sure they got the fright of their lives. I actually didn’t see it come down and didn’t know it was being demolished. I was simply out for my regular weekend walk around the city. I walked into Victoria Square and realised immediately that this didn’t look right! There were also police there – making sure no one got too close to the building as it could fall down at any time.

Police frequently had to warn people not to go any closer – and I’m not surprised either, as many of us are so accustomed to getting close to a building demolition that we would not actually sense the danger. However, I did overhear quite a few people having the same reaction I did – hmmm, that doesn’t look right now?

A close up with my zoom lens.

Engineers now have to work out how to safely bring down the rest of the building.

For more information, read the Press article online.