City centre office collapses

An eight-storey office building, leaning precariously for days in one of Manila’s busy shopping districts, collapsed today hours after occupants fled in panic following ominous creaking sounds and bursting water pipes.

A building across the street in the Divisoria district, which Philippine authorities earlier ordered evacuated along with others nearby, was damaged by falling debris. There were no immediate reports of injuries.

The collapse left a mound of rubble about half as high as the original structure while a thick cloud of dust swirled above.

The sound of bursting window panes came seconds before the building keeled over. Part of the structure fell on electric cables causing a loud explosion and power cuts in the area.

Mayor Lito Atienza ordered an investigation.

“We will have to look at the cause of all of this,” he told ABS-CBN television. “There is so much construction going on that it may have undermined the foundation.”