Emergency services at Avondale building site wall collapse

Thursday, 1 November 2018

A concrete structure on a construction site has collapsed in West Auckland.

The site at 38 Patiki Rd, Avondale, is a new industrial development set to have five warehouses and offices.

One witness said there was quite severe wind in the area when a wall collapsed at about 3.30pm on Thursday.

'We're exactly opposite the big construction site. A big gust of wind blew maybe three huge walls down. We just stood there in awe and then one of my colleagues went and called the ambulance.

'It was pretty scary. There was a huge thud, that's what made us look up. One of the walls just crumbled.'

Another witness said a large concrete panel, approximately 10m long, had collapsed at the site operated by Gibson O'Connor Construction.

A Fire and Emergency NZ spokesman said a wall had collapsed at the Patiki Rd site and one fire truck was sent to the scene at 3.33pm. 

A St John Ambulance officer at the scene said no-one was injured.

St John spokeswoman Chrissy Hamilton said three ambulances and an emergency rescue vehicle were sent to the scene. Its major incidents team was also on standby, she added. 

A police spokesman said officers were assisting at the site. 

Industrial broker for the site, Dhiru Patel said he did not know about the collapse.

Metservice meteorologist Tui McInnes said strong winds developed on Thursday morning, reaching peak strength between 2pm and 4pm with gusts up to 75-85 km/h.

McInnes said the wind would die down but could come back at the weekend.

Traffic was reported as slow on Patiki Rd after the incident but the road remained open.