On Thursday, the 30th of March, an uninhabited five-storey building collapsed at a construction site. No information is available about possible victims, as reported by State Fire and Rescue Service (VUGD).
VUGD received a call to Satekles Street at 14:15 p.m. local time. Upon arriving at the scene, rescuers found that a building had collapsed at a construction site, burying at least three cars under the rubble. [Ten cars were damaged as a result of the building collapsing, as reported by VUGD. Some of the cars remain buried under the rubble.]
Riga municipal police public relations specialist Toms Sadovskis reports all traffic on Dzirnavu Street was shut down on Thursday. Efforts are put into reopening the street for traffic as soon as possible. Nine people were evacuated from a nearby house. A Rīgas satiksme bus arrived for those people to stay in.
An operational headquarters was established at the site in order to effectively coordinate the work to clear the rubble. Evacuation of the area is underway. Rescuers are searching through the rubble. VUGD, Latvijas gāze, municipal police, State Police and construction supervisors participate in rescue efforts.
The quarter around the site is partially restricted. One side of Dzirnavu Street is closed for pedestrians. The section of the street between Satekle and Ernesta Birznieka-Upīša Street is closed for traffic.
The construction site in question is developed by Linstow Baltic. A business centre is planned to be built there. Construction work is performed by Bukoteks LLC. Representatives said the company has no comment about the situation.
Five storey building collapses in Riga; cars buried under rubble
