Rescuer details debris removal at collapsed Novosibirsk mall in first-person video
Rescuers pulled three victims from under the debris, one of whom died.
Employees of the Siberian Rescue Center of the Russian Ministry of Emergency Situations (EMERCOM) were involved in clearing the debris of the collapsed shopping center on Naumova Street in the Pervomaysky district of Novosibirsk. One of the center«s representatives, 21-year-old Anton A., told NGS how the aftermath was handled.
Hundreds of rescue personnel were deployed to the site of the building collapse.
According to the rescuer, the center«s employees were called two hours after the incident — all forces needed to be concentrated at the site of the massive collapse.
«We received the signal at around 18:10. Before that, MASS and the Main Directorate had already started working there. We were called due to a shortage of equipment and people. We arrived within an hour and a half, the time was spent on the road — the center is located in Kochenevo,» Anton said.
About 50 employees of the Siberian Rescue Center arrived at the scene. They were tasked with clearing the debris. Since there were many collapsed structures and snow, the work took almost two hours.
«Our center was engaged in eliminating the consequences. We cleared the collapsed second floor to prevent further destruction. We removed structures, items, snow — everything that had collapsed. The entire second floor was cleared. We worked for about an hour and a half, and before we arrived, the first team had been working for three to four hours. A crane and other equipment were involved,» Anton shared.
Anton A. cites a large amount of snow accumulated on the roof and the unreliable building structures as causes of the tragedy.
On the afternoon of January 21, the second floor of a shopping center collapsed on Naumova Street in the Pervomaysky district of Novosibirsk. Under the debris were several people, one died.
The mall building turned out to be an unauthorized construction, and its owner was detained. What is known about the tragedy and how the structure grew from a car wash — in the NGS article.
