A Medellin construction evacuated a recently built apartment building weeks after a residential complex constructed by the same company collapsed, killing eleven.
The “Continental Towers” – a complex of 116 apartments located in the wealthy neighborhood El Poblado – were built by construction company CDO, the same that built the “Space” complex which collapsed on October 12 at 150 meters of the recently evacuated building.
MORE: Collapsed apartment block in Medellin; 1st body found, another tower at risk
At least 16 families were evacuated on Monday night in the process of what the construction company called a “preventive relocation.”
Pablo Villegas, manager at the construction company CDO, told newspaper El Tiempo that “we decided to do this preventive relocation because we want to avoid errors of the past. We will accompany the affected families until they can return to their homes.”
“Some problems have occurred with the pillars of this building and we have to reinforce the structure. This is an act of responsibility,” the head of local disaster prevention and management, Carlos Alberto Gil, told newspaper El Colombiano.
Some of the evacuated inhabitants reported the existence of cracks in the ceiling and walls of the apartments, especially on the higher floors of the towers.
“In our apartments there are big cracks, some of them appeared after the tragedy of the ‘Space’. The doors do not close normally, that is how we know there is something serious going on. We need them to tell us the truth, this is not only preventive,” a resident told the Medellin daily.
According to the construction company, tests on the buildings will take over a month.
Locations of Space and Continental Towers
Sources
- Evacuan otro edificio en Medellín de la constructora del Space (El Tiempo)
- Evacuan el edificio Continental Towers de El Poblado (El Colombiano)