Video captures the moment an apartment building suddenly topples over in Massachusetts
Video captured the sudden fall of an apartment building in eastern Massachusetts, which reportedly left a handful of residents displaced and flattened a vehicle over the weekend.
Brookline Police and Fire responded to reports of a building collapse around 10 a.m. on Sunday. When local authorities arrived at the residence, they discovered the top two floors of three-story building had caved in, the police department said in a Facebook post.
Nearby resident Rym Baouendi shared in an interview with WBZ-TV that she was shoveling her sidewalk a few feet away from the building when she heard it fall.
"I was just screaming, saying, 'My neighbors! My neighbors!' I thought they were in the car. But luckily no one was there, and it seems like no one was hurt," Baouendi told the outlet.
Video shows moment apartment building topples over
"It appears the building was under construction and vacant at the time of the collapse and there are no reported injuries," the post read. "Several of the adjacent buildings were evacuated as a precaution."
Multiple vehicles and the building next door were damaged by the force of the collapse, Deputy Fire Chief Kyle McEachern told The Boston Globe. Six residents, who were displaced by the collapse, were placed in temporary shelters until crews finished cleaning up.
The apartment building, vacant and under construction, was later torn down. The cause of the collapse was not known, but the snow that hit the area may have played a role, The Globe reported.
In a statement to The Globe, the Town of Brookline said, that the "building permits for this site are active and valid."
"The scene will be secured until the structure has been stabilized, and we ask everyone to abide by the perimeter for their own safety," the statement read.