Shankill building collapse: Road closures still in place and buses and cars detoured after city council team takes over site from emergency services
Part of Shankill Road is still sealed off after this morning’s rush hour collapse of a building.
Understood to be a disused shop, the first floor wall of what appeared to be two-storey structure fell into the road shortly before 8am to the shock of neighbours and commuters.
Emergency services sped to the scene, sealing Shankill Road off between its junctions with Tennent Street and Brookemount Street.
The Fire Service were on the scene for roughly three hours before handing the situation over to the city council’s building control team – though by early evening, traffic restrictions were still in place.
Both private vehicles and public transport were diverted away from the area.
It’s understood no one was injured in the collapse, though at the time of publication the cause of the incident had not yet been revealed.
Stated a Fire Service spokeswoman: “Firefighters used manual handling techniques to clear debris and make the area safe.
“The scene was handed over to building control and firefighters left the incident at 10.49am.”
A traffic update issued shortly after 4pm stated that vehicles were still being diverted away from the area.
Stated a post on the site TrafficWatchNI: “Due to a collapsed building, the two-lane road closure from 320 Shankill Road, including Glenwood Street, to Tennent Street remains in place.
“Local diversions remain in place.”
Translink confirmed its bus routes that usually travel the length of the Shankill and onto Woodvale Road would instead veer off to another arterial route almost half a mile away.
The buses would leave Shankill Road to travel the length of Tennent Street onto Crumlin Road, before heading along Cambrai Street and Enfield Street to rejoin their normal route at a crossroads with Woodvale Road and Ballygomartin Road – bypassing the scene of the collapse in a lengthy detour.
For area MLA Brian Kingston, yesterday morning’s incident was “deeply concerning”.
“My immediate thoughts are with everyone affected, including neighbouring residents and businesses,” the DUP politician told the News Letter.
“I want to thank the emergency services for their swift response and for working to secure the area. It is important that people continue to follow their advice and avoid the immediate vicinity while the operation continues.
“There will, of course, need to be a full assessment of how this collapse occurred and whether there are any wider safety concerns. In the meantime, the priority must be public safety and ensuring that those directly affected receive the support they need.”
The PSNI confirmed they attended the scene of the incident this morning, though a spokeswoman told the News Letter the city council is the lead agency on clean-up operations.
A council spokeswoman stated the building will be demolished, but teams will try to minimise disruption to the public and nearby businesses.