Langley, British Columbia — On November 11, a cinderblock wall of a condo under construction in downtown Langley City, B.C. collapsed onto a nearby car dealership.
According to accounts on social media from people who heard the crash, the wall collapsed sometime around 1:30 a.m. and came as the result of a wind storm that hit the lower mainland and also knocked out power to thousands of homes.
The site was for a six-storey mixed-use condo building and when it collapsed, it fell onto the property of the King of Cars dealership, crushing at least one pickup truck and causing yet to be confirmed damages.
According to Tessa Hiebert, project coordinator for the condo site, the wall that came down wasn’t structural but was a fire wall meant to protect the lot from surrounding properties in emergencies.
Hiebert said the site abided by B.C. building codes and that structural specifications were set.
“In the coming weeks, we’ll be working with engineering and our masonry contractor to establish what happened, and to build back better,” she said.
As of Tuesday morning, the debris from the crash was mostly cleaned up with King of Cars and WorkSafe B.C. yet to make a public statement about the event.
