Two-storey building collapses in Porto

A two-storey building collapsed in the centre of Porto on Thursday morning after demolition work on a neighbouring property, with a shop owner and a construction worker escaping moments before it gave way.

The incident happened on Rua Antero de Quental, where a paper shop owner and a construction worker managed to leave the building moments before it came down.

According to Porto City Council, the collapse occurred during demolition work on a vacant building under renovation, causing parts of the adjacent property and debris to fall into the street.

The owner of the paper shop, 72-year-old Simões Lopes, told reporters he noticed stones falling inside the building shortly after 8.15am. He then spotted a crack in the plasterboard ceiling and struggled to open the shop door before going outside to alert the foreman of the neighbouring construction site.

As he was telling him something wasn’t right, the building collapsed, he said.

Initial fears that people may have been trapped beneath the rubble were later ruled out. Porto’s firefighters, who happened to be nearby and responded before emergency services were formally alerted, confirmed there were no injuries.

The municipality said all workers involved in the demolition had left the site safely before the collapse. As a precaution, specialist search dog teams from the Municipal Police and Porto Fire Brigade were deployed to ensure nobody remained trapped.

Rua Antero de Quental was closed to traffic between Rua da Constituição and Rua Damião de Góis while emergency crews assess the stability of the remaining façade and begin clearing debris from the road.

The city council said structural engineers are evaluating the building before the front façade is demolished to eliminate any remaining risk.

Sources: Jornal de Notícias/Notícias ao Minuto/Lusa

Michael Bruxo

Journalist for the Portugal Resident.