A three-story building in central Tel Aviv partially collapsed on Wednesday
afternoon, with half of the building lying in ruins in the courtyard
below.
By late-afternoon, IDF search and rescue teams with trained dogs
were searching for survivors, but police said they did not believe anyone was
trapped in the rubble, at the intersection of Nachlat Binyamin and Ahad Ha’am
streets.
Tel Aviv police believe the collapse occurred because the
building, which has landmark preservation status, was more than 60 years old,
and as the result of a gas explosion as had been previously reported.
Guy
Dallal, who lives in the building with his wife, says he was at home when the
collapse happened, in his apartment on the other side of the building. He felt a
shock wave of some sort and left the building, without injury.
Another
resident, Sigal, said she was in her apartment and felt the building shaking, at
which point she left the building, shortly before her apartment
collapsed.
A bulldozer was on the scene around 4 p.m., working to take
down the rest of the building as residents gave testimony to tax authorities.
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