Man trapped as building collapses in London

One man is trapped under rubble after part of a building collapsed in central London, police said tonight.

Commander Steve Allen of City of Westminster Police said the man remained trapped on the third floor of the five-storey building, and all efforts were being made to rescue him.

The man was conscious and in contact with rescue officers from London Fire Brigade, he said.

One other person had been taken to hospital suffering minor injuries.

Stunned office workers described their shock as the top two storeys of the structure in Dean Farrar Street, a few hundred yards from New Scotland Yard, appeared to implode.

Police moved quickly to reassure the public that there was no evidence of an explosion at the scene, which is close to the Houses of Parliament.

Labour deputy leadership hopeful Hazel Blears had her campaign office based in the building.

Mr Allen told reporters at the scene: “Initially there were reports of people potentially trapped but we established everyone in the building has been accounted for, but that includes one person who remains trapped in the building but in physical contact speaking to London Fire Brigade.

“All efforts are concentrated on formulating a plan to rescue him.”

Eye witnesses said the five storey brick structure had been undergoing major building work, with workers seen recently taking rubble from inside.

Mr Allen said the only people on site were building staff carrying out the refurbishment work.

Masonry from the upper storeys smashed into a van and some motorcycles parked in the street below.

Although the area will have been busy with pedestrians at around 4pm, emergency services reported taking just one casualty to hospital.

3 ACCIDENT Collapse Lead

Mr Allen said rescue services at the scene were operating under extremely hazardous conditions, and were having to work cautiously and carefully while at the same time securing the trapped man's rescue.

He was unable to give any details of the man’s identity.

He added: “There’s still considerable risk of more debris falling from the building.

“There’s no information available at all to suggest that what has happened is anything other than structural failings, there’s no evidence at this early stage that the damage has been caused by an explosion.”

A spokesman for Ms Blears said her staff had been evacuated but none was hurt.

Labour Party chairwoman Ms Blears and several other MPs spent several hours in the offices earlier today phoning potential supporters.

The spokesman said the building was a business centre, where office space was hired by a wide variety of different ventures.

“It is usually packed with people, but our activists did not see anyone injured,” he added.

Mr Allen said reports had first been received of a building collapse at 4pm and that Metropolitan Police, London Fire Brigade and London Ambulance officers had attended the scene.

Of the trapped man, he said: “He is conscious and talking to members of the fire brigade. Our priority is to get him out as quickly as we can.”

He added that considering the number of people in the area at the time it was a “stroke of good fortune” that more people were not injured.

London Fire Brigade spokesman Brendan McAlone said specialist urban search and rescue teams were on the scene assessing how to rescue the trapped man.

Officers could not say whether he was working there when the collapse happened or whether he fell.

Scotland Yard said the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) would be responsible for determining the cause of the collapse.

One eyewitness described rushing out of his office after hearing a loud bang which he thought was a bomb.

Surinder Purewal, who works at the Metropolitan Police Authority building opposite, said: “I was in the office opposite when all of a sudden there was a loud bang. I thought it was a bomb.

“I came out of the office and told the staff to get back. I saw the whole building come down, there was a lot of dust.”

Justin Linger, who was in the building when it collapsed, told BBC News 24: “It was more than a noise – it was just a feeling of the building actually physically moving. It was quite disconcerting.”

Asked about how people reacted, he said: “To be fair, most people left the building in a fairly orderly fashion. There was no panic particularly.

“I guess outside the building there was a little concern because you could see the dust coming down the street.

“It was pretty calm although there was obviously a lot of police presence, fire engines, ambulances.

“There was probably a certain degree of concern about whether the building had collapsed or whether it was something else.”