Amateur video highlights the hazards of working around quake-damaged buildings.
For just over two minutes, this video is just another clip of a high reach excavator picking its way through a building. But just seconds before it comes to an end, the video highlights the dangers facing New Zealand’s demolition contractors as they painstakingly dismantle the buildings undermined by the country’s February earthquake.
As far as we have been able to ascertain, no-one was injured in this collapse. But coming just a week after post-quake inspection methods were called into question – with some inspections labelled “cursory” – this video serves as a timely reminder of the challenge currently facing NZ demolition engineers.
