14-storey New Zealand building blown up in seconds

CHRISTCHURCH, New Zealand – A 14-storey office tower tumbled to the ground in just a few seconds during New Zealand’s first controlled implosion.

U.S. demolition experts used 60 kilograms (130 pounds) of explosives to blow up Radio Network House in Christchurch on Sunday. The building, once home to 400 office workers, was badly damaged during a devastating magnitude-6.1 earthquake last year.

The quake irreparably damaged 1,400 downtown buildings and killed 185 people, although nobody in Radio Network House was killed.

Hundreds of people turned out to watch Sunday. Six-year-old Jayden Halliwell, who suffers from kidney cancer, pressed the button to trigger the explosion.

Greg Hedges, the building’s majority owner, says the implosion cost about 1.5 million New Zealand dollars ($1.2 million) and was more efficient than taking the building down in pieces.