Rennes. The floor of a store collapses – The Telegram

The tile of the store Noz collapsed about 20 m2 and a dep th of approximately 2.5 m Three people fell into the hole.

The shop floor Noz, rue Saint-Malo, Rennes, collapsed, yesterday afternoon, while many customers were inside. No victim is to be deplored. A collapse, probably caused by the work of the new metro line.

The customers were many on this Saturday afternoon in this store belonging to the city centre, located at number 10 of the rue de Saint-Malo, not far from the place Sainte-Anne when suddenly at 15: 45, the slab of the floor of the building collapsed on 20 m2 and a depth of about 2.5 meters.

Three people who have fallen in the hole

About 70 firefighters were dispatched to the scene with an important means of rescue, removal, and search-dog teams to bring relief to any injured. After an inspection of the premises by the emergency services, no victim was found trapped under the rubble. Only three people, according to the police, fell in the hole that is opened in the soil. They were able to come out of themselves. More fear than harm, but the structure of the building has been affected. Yesterday evening, a forty firefighters were still on the premises, inter alia, to undertake the shoring of the walls. The building as well as the one adjacent to the store, with a dozen or so inhabitants have also been evacuated. Measures should be taken to resettle. On the spot, the police has set up a security perimeter, and forbade all movement at the level of the rue Saint-Malo during the emergency response. At around 18: 30, the people walking by were again allowed to borrow the street, only the odd-numbered side.

the work of The metro in question

Quickly, the hypothesis of the tunnel boring machine Elaine, who digs currently the new line B of the metro, as that can be at the origin of the facts, has been issued. The machine that was at the station Sainte-Anne resumed her path to the 9 November. After having dug one hundred meters to about 25 meters of depth, it was, yesterday afternoon, twenty meters from the back of the store. “We think that there is indeed a link. In the early after-noon, the measurements recorded showed a settling of the soil for the area. And and then, one sees from the following, more abruptly at around 15 h 40, there is a settling most important, which corresponds to the time when the fire fighters reported that the collapse happened in the store, ” explains Xavier Tirel, managing director of the Semtcar, the mixed-economy company of Rennes Métropole in charge of the metro.

The tunnel boring machine at the stop

Yesterday evening, the mayor of Rennes, Nathalie Appéré, confirmed these facts : “land subsidence highly localized, has led to the collapse of a portion of the floor of the store Noz “. The tunnel boring machine, which was immediately shut down, should the stay ” pending the establishment of an accurate diagnosis and comprehensive “, also stressed the mayor.