Incident Overview
A woman waiting at a bus stop near a building that partially collapsed in Oldham recounted hearing "cracking and rumbling" noises before the structure began to fall.
Nikki Fenton stated:
"You could definitely tell something was going because the side started to go."
Authorities have advised the public to avoid the area around the scaffold-covered building on King Street following the partial collapse on Tuesday.
Emergency services responded to a terraced property at approximately 12:40 GMT after a significant portion of its front facade crumbled. All five occupants inside at the time escaped, although two sustained injuries.
Eyewitness Account
Fenton described her experience:
"I was waiting at the 409 bus stop, heard cracking, rumbling, bits falling, and then I made up off the street because obviously something was happening.
I saw bits of it come down but I got away before it actually fully came down."
She characterized the scene as "other worldly" and mentioned she chose to remain nearby since "you don't really see this every day."
Fenton added:
"Two days before, I'd noticed a crack in the side of the building - it was probably an inch or so, and I noticed it because I walked down here every day to get the bus.
About 10 years ago they demolished the building next door and the scaffold's been up ever since with tarpaulins on it."
The morning following the collapse, Fenton remarked:
"It's really shocking - it's got to be a miracle, looking at it now, that no-one's actually been killed."
Emergency Response and Aftermath
Road closures were implemented as engineers from Cadent arrived to repair a gas main damaged during the incident.
Oldham Council leader Arooj Shah announced that the local authority had established a centre to assist affected residents. Housing officials have arranged temporary accommodations and provided food, medicine, and essential baby supplies.
King Street remains closed to traffic, although tram services have resumed operations.
The North West Ambulance Service confirmed that the injuries of the two individuals transported to hospital are not considered serious.
Building Ownership and Additional Information
The building is owned by Oldham Councillor Kamran Ghafoor, who has declined to comment on the incident.
The building had previously housed a Euro King Mini Market.
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