Portion of condominium building in Makati collapses

MANILA, Philippines — Two persons sustained minor injuries after a portion of a condominium building in Makati City got detached on Thursday.

According to a report from the Makati City Police, the incident happened at the parking area located on the 6th-floor of SMDC Jazz Residences Tower D located along Nicanor Garcia Street and Metropolitan Avenue in Barangay Bel-Air.

Makati Mayor Abby Binay, in an interview with dzMM, said three vehicles were damaged by the detached portion of the building.

In a phone interview with INQUIRER.net, Maj. Gideon Ines, chief of the Makati City Police Investigation Unit, said two of those injured individuals are drivers of the vehicles damaged by debris. He said one of them was rushed to the Makati Medical Center but the other refused to be brought to a health facility since he only sustained minor injuries.

According to Binay, the building has commercial establishments at the bottom and a condominium above.

“It happened around 10:52 a.m. May nahulog muna sa fifth floor parang part ng wall pero meron pong initial report na nagkaroon po ng explosion (Part of the wall of the fifth floor collapsed but there is initial report of an explosion) so we will have to double-check,” she said.

In a separate interview, Fire Inspector Joseph Richard Sajulga, chief of operations at the Makati City Fire Department, said the report of the explosion needs to be confirmed.

He said it is possible that the loud sound was caused by the collapsing portion of the building.

“Initially merong sinabi na may sumabog, pero ang sabi ng gwardya dito sa team natin, wala namang sumabog. Di pa confirmed (Initially they said there was an explosion but a security guard here told our team there was none. It has yet to be confirmed),” he said.

He added a team from the Makati City Police bomb squad has been dispatched to the area.

An official statement from SMDC confirmed that what broke off from the building was a ledge on the parking level of Jazz Mall. SMDC, in the same statement, said that following the incident, a thorough walk through of the mall premises and residential buildings was conducted by the structural consultant, Sysquared & Associates, and representatives of the Makati City government.

“Following the incident of the detached ledge on the parking level of Jazz Mall, It was concluded that the incident does not affect the structural integrity of the development and that the buildings are safe for occupancy,” SMDC said.

“We are relieved to report that, apart from two people who sustained minor abrasions, there were no casualties resulting from this event. The cause of the incident is under investigation and we will take whatever measures necessary to address the situation and avoid any recurrence,” SMDC added.

Please refresh this page for updates.

/MUF

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