A building collapse in Faro has left an elderly couple temporarily homeless this morning, 16th April, and destroyed a car after part of a house gave way next to a construction site that had already raised concerns amongst residents.
The property collapsed in the early morning at a location where civil construction works were under way. One passenger vehicle was completely destroyed, and another damaged.
The collapse is believed to have occurred at around 8.30am. According to the website of the National Authority for Emergency and Civil Protection (ANEPC), the alert was issued at 8.43am, prompting the deployment of 19 firefighters supported by seven emergency vehicles.
Speaking to journalists at the scene, Faro Mayor António Miguel Pina said the exact cause of the collapse remains under investigation. “The reasons for the incident are still being determined. As can be seen, there is construction work next door which was already being closely monitored, as neighbours had previously expressed concerns,” he said. “Two people have been displaced, an elderly couple.”
No serious injuries were reported. “The gentleman received precautionary medical attention at hospital, but fortunately there are no serious casualties,” the mayor added. Authorities are now working to secure temporary accommodation for the couple. Family members live nearby, and the couple’s son-in-law operates an architectural practice on the ground floor of a neighbouring building on the same street, near its junction with Rua Aboim Ascensão, one of the Algarve capital’s main thoroughfares.
According to the mayor, “the first priority is supporting these residents. Afterwards, municipal services, and potentially insurance companies, will assess whether the construction project was being properly followed, whether all safety conditions were in place, or whether something failed. That assessment will have to be made.”
Public property was also affected. At least two vehicles sustained damage, one of them completely buried beneath the rubble. “There are no victims and nothing beyond minor abrasions,” he said.
Initial fears that people might be trapped under the debris were later ruled out. “That was the initial concern,” Pina explained. “The gentleman was near the area that collapsed, while his wife was on the other side of the house, but fortunately no one was trapped.”
Source: Sul Informação
Photo credit: Bruno Filipe Pires
