The towering stone steeple of a historic church in New London, Connecticut, collapsed on Thursday afternoon, leaving a massive hole in the roof and a massive pile of stone on the front steps. The incident happened at about 1:30 p.m. at the church located at the intersection of State and Union streets in the heart of downtown New London. New London Mayor Michael Passero told WTNH that one person who was inside the building at the time was safe and escorted out by first responders.”You can count the luck the luck involved in this a million ways,” Passero said. “The building was empty, there was no services, the building fell onto itself.”An urban search and rescue team, along with search dogs, was used to help search for any additional victims. Two congregations share the church — Engaging Heaven and the former First Congregational Church. Engaging Heaven owns the building, according to the mayor.A building next to the church that serves as dorms for Connecticut College students was evacuated but did not suffer any damage, the mayor said. Passero said they are investigating what may have caused the collapse. He said officials have no reason to believe it was anything more than a structural collapse.Officials have surveillance video that captured the collapse, but did not immediately make it public.”The city was extremely fortunate in the manner of collapse,” Passero said. “We did lose a cherished, historic structure.”Passero said that engineers have brought demolition equipment to the scene. He expects at least one of the two remaining towers will have to be taken down.”We’re expecting that this building will be a total loss,” Passero said.The granite gothic revival style church was constructed in 1850 by the Prague-born, New York-based architect Leopold Eidlitz.
NEW LONDON, Conn. —
The towering stone steeple of a historic church in New London, Connecticut, collapsed on Thursday afternoon, leaving a massive hole in the roof and a massive pile of stone on the front steps.
The incident happened at about 1:30 p.m. at the church located at the intersection of State and Union streets in the heart of downtown New London.
New London Mayor Michael Passero told WTNH that one person who was inside the building at the time was safe and escorted out by first responders.
“You can count the luck the luck involved in this a million ways,” Passero said. “The building was empty, there was no services, the building fell onto itself.”
An urban search and rescue team, along with search dogs, was used to help search for any additional victims.
Two congregations share the church — Engaging Heaven and the former First Congregational Church. Engaging Heaven owns the building, according to the mayor.
A building next to the church that serves as dorms for Connecticut College students was evacuated but did not suffer any damage, the mayor said.
Passero said they are investigating what may have caused the collapse. He said officials have no reason to believe it was anything more than a structural collapse.
Officials have surveillance video that captured the collapse, but did not immediately make it public.
“The city was extremely fortunate in the manner of collapse,” Passero said. “We did lose a cherished, historic structure.”
Passero said that engineers have brought demolition equipment to the scene. He expects at least one of the two remaining towers will have to be taken down.
“We’re expecting that this building will be a total loss,” Passero said.
The granite gothic revival style church was constructed in 1850 by the Prague-born, New York-based architect Leopold Eidlitz.
https://www.wcvb.com/article/new-london-connecticut-church-steeple-collapse/46541635
