A probe is under way after part of the roof at the old Olympia swimming pool in Dundee collapsed on a digger and its driver.
The Health and Safety Executive said it is carrying out inquiries into the dramatic incident, which sent clouds of dust soaring over the Tay and left the digger covered in debris.
The driver of the digger remarkably escaped injury and was able to walk away from the scene after the majority of wreckage fell on the machine’s mechanical arm.
Workers from Central Demolition, who are contracted to work at the site, took several hours to free the trapped digger.
It is still unclear what caused the roof to crumple, although eyewitnesses in the run-up to the incident believe it had been left in a precarious position.
John Ednie said: “It was quite clear when passing on Thursday, and yesterday morning, that the entire roof, facing eastwards, had sagged due to a structural supporting column being removed one assumes for heavy vehicles accessing the remains of the building.”
Grant Mulholland, who owns the Incredible Roll Inn on nearby Whitehall Crescent, saw the collapsed roof as he was coming back from deliveries at City Quay.
He said: “As I came around the corner I could tell that something was wrong and there was a digger underneath the roof, as though the arm of the digger was keeping it up.
“It looks really dramatic, like a whole section has fallen in.”
The incident was largely resolved by Friday afternoon, although it remains unclear what impact, if any, this will have on the timescale of the demolition work.
A spokeswoman for Central Demolition said: “Yesterday morning there was a partial canopy collapse at the former Olympia swimming pool, nobody was injured in the incident and investigations are ongoing at present to determine the cause.”
“We cannot comment further at this time.”
A spokeswoman for the Health and Safety Executive said: “We have been made aware of the incident and are making initial inquiries at the moment.”
Picture by Foxhound Photography
Footage courtesy of Yoyo Games