The video was recorded moments after the collapse of a tenement house in Cieszyn by the father of one of the local residents. The video shows an extensive fire and the destroyed balcony of a neighboring building. – Horrible. The entire tenement house was destroyed – commented Mr. Leszek, the author of the recording.
On Sunday morning a three-story tenement house at ul. collapsed. Długa in the center of Cieszyn. Residents said they first heard a loud bang. There were three apartments in the building. The fire also spread to neighboring buildings.
“The explosion collapsed my daughter's entire balcony”
The recording of flames bursting from the tenement house was recorded by Mr. Leszek. The video published on social media shows not only the fire, but also the damage to the structure of the building caused by the explosion. The cause of the explosion is not known yet.
A frame from a recording showing a burning tenement house in CieszynCieszyn and Cieszyn Silesia: Cieszy.pl
– Horrible. The entire tenement house was gone. Terrible. The explosion destroyed my daughter's entire balcony – said its author, Mr. Leszek, in the recording, showing the shattered windows of the apartment and fragments of glass lying on the floor.
It sounded like a bomb had exploded
The mayor of Cieszyn, Gabriela Staszkiewicz, said that the tenement house where the disaster occurred is a municipal building, close to the center of Cieszyn's historic old town. – He's definitely about a hundred years old. There was a gas installation inside, the mayor added.
Read also: “The danger zone extends several dozen meters around the rubble, because fragments can fly that far”
The district building supervision inspector was on site. – According to his information, the tenement house above the one that collapsed is safe. Residents will be able to return there. Of course, now the windows are broken and they need to be repaired. The tenement house below has a huge hole in the gable wall. Residents will probably not be able to return there. At the moment, we don't know how many people there are, said the mayor.
Collapsed tenement house in CieszynMichał Meissner/PAP
Waldemar Kazimierczak, a resident of Cieszyn, who lives near the crash site, said that the noise in the morning was as loud as if a bomb had exploded. – It happened in a house next to the tenement house where my daughter lives. She managed to escape. The neighbor, a rather energetic man, helped her. (…) After the explosion, the daughter stood in the cold. People covered her with a blanket, but she stood still. He's at my house now. Mentally, I feel bad, he said.
Cieszyn and Cieszyn Silesia: Cieszy.pl, PAP, TVN24
Main photo source: Cieszyn and Cieszyn Silesia: Cieszy.pl