Linz apartment building evacuated over collapse fears after demolition next door, residents back by 9 p.m.

Emergency crews were called shortly after 6 p.m. on Nov. 10, according to the Oberösterreichische Nachrichten (OÖN). A construction company had reported a possible problem with the building's structure. A spokeswoman for the Upper Austria state police command told the paper there were fears the building could collapse and was no longer safe for the people living in it. By 7 p.m. the building was empty, the regional paper Tips reported. Nobody was hurt.

The Linz professional fire brigade checked the building from an aerial ladder, and police closed off a wide area around it, ORF Upper Austria reported. Residents waited in a heated bus supplied by the city transit company Linz Linien while the Red Cross looked after them. A structural engineer assessed the situation during the evening, Tips reported.

Early reports tied the problem to the demolition of a house on the adjoining construction site on Langgasse. ORF said on Tuesday evening that the cause had not been officially confirmed. Around 9 p.m. the all-clear came and residents could go back to their flats, the OÖN reported.

None of the reports named the demolition contractor or said what the engineer found, whether the building was damaged, or whether work on the neighboring site will continue.