Building collapse in St. Petersburg University, Russia

A university building partially collapsed in the Russian city of St. Petersburg. Students were feared trapped under the rubble.

The building is located inside the Information Technologies, Mechanics and Optics University. The incident occurred on February 16, 2019, while courses were in progress.

24 rescue teams rushed at the scene to evacuate 86 students (20 of them were foreign students attending a weekend class) and search for victims. Fortunately, despite the initial suspicions, no one was trapped under the debris. "Nobody was found under the rubble and we don't have any reports of missing relatives," a spokesperson told CNN.

Fedor Gusak, a student who was at the top floor at the time of the partial collapse, described his terrifying experience: "The whole building trembled, shaking, and I thought that everything was falling apart. The electricity went off. It was very scary at this moment. I opened the door to the corridor to see what had happened. There was unreal dust, I saw a hole in the roof and no stairs to go down. No exit. While we were thinking what to do, people shouted. Is there anyone alive? The firemen arrived very quickly and we descended the fire ladders. There was really no panic, everyone reacted very calmly."

According to local information, part of the roof and 3 floors of the construction caved in while the building was under renovation works. An investigation on the causes of the collapse was launched by Russia's Investigative Committee. St. Petersburg Deputy Governor, Aleksandr Beglov, clarified that the incident was triggered by the renovation. "There can only be one version which is linked to the reconstruction of this building. There can be no other versions, nothing extreme," he stated.

Click the link below to watch the moment when the 2nd floor of the building collapses.