Portion of condominium collapses in Makati

April 30, 2020

A portion of a condominium residence in Makati City collapsed on Thursday morning, according to police.


Police Colonel Rogelio Simon, Makati police chief,  said a portion of Tower D, SM Jazz residence, along Nicanor Garcia Street, Barangay Belair, collapsed around 11am.


“Building D is the only one affected from the four buildings… from the fifth floor, some precast collapsed and fell from the driveway of the mall,” Simon said in a radio interview.


He said no one was injured but some vehicles parked at the mall driveway were damaged.


“But our issue is the residents of the tower were asked to go out by the building management… they still need to observe social distancing,” the Makati police chief said.


“We are now waiting for the composing team to have a walk through inside Building D to have an assessment so that we can bring the residents back inside,” Simon added.


Simon said a team of Philippine National Police (PNP) and Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP) conducted a walk through earlier but they could not assess the situation as they don’t have knowledge in engineering.


“That’s why we called experts who can declare if the building is safe,” he said.


Simon clarified that the alleged sound heard by residents and witnesses was not due to explosives.


“Our EOD (explosive ordinance division) team entered inside but they did not see any traces of explosives… maybe the loud sound the witnesses heard was the wall debris that fell because it’s a block of concrete,” he said.


“It’s a long block of concrete that has metal attached to other slab that’s why the damage was big,” he added.

Simon said some police  in the area are taking care of the residents so social distancing can be observed. Ella Dionisio/DMS