Hundreds of east London residents were evacuated from tower blocks in the middle of the night due to a potentially “disastrous” crack.
The Sovereign and Centurion towers in Canning Town were considered at risk by the London Fire Brigade (LFB) due to the crack in a concrete slab supporting the two buildings.
While some in the block were sent an email about the fault on Thursday afternoon, a full evacuation was not complete until 3am on Friday with firefighters being scrambled to the scene.
Those evacuated were offered beds in a nearby council building, but have not been told when they can return to their homes.
Hundreds were evacuated in the early hours of Friday morning
A meeting was being held on site between Newham Council and property management company Prime on Friday, with senior managers and engineers on site.
An investigation is being launched into the problems that triggered the evacuation.
One resident posted on Reddit saying that residents “don't have a clear picture of what's going on”.
Documents posted on the site, which appear to have been sent by Prime to the tower’s residents, say that the crack in the slab poses an “imminent risk to life” and could result in the collapse of the buildings.
The user wrote that emergency services came knocking on doors of towers at around 3am, advising residents to evacuate the building due to an imminent risk to life.
Centurion Tower has been evacuated
Google Maps
While the emergency services were “very helpful”, the poster wrote that a “WhatsApp group with other residents is quite frantic with everyone being a bit lost.”
A person who lives in one of the towers told Metro: “There were whole families standing on the street freezing and confused. We have been told the building is not safe but have been offered nothing in the way of support yet.
“There are loads of questions we have, including how long has this potentially disastrous crack been there.”
Another said: “The big question is how long has this problem been there and was it built to code.
“To be evacuated so suddenly suggests the situation was very serious and potentially life threatening.”
A LFB statement said: “Firefighters were called to reports of a dangerous structure at a residential building on Hoy Street in Canning Town.
“Crews assisted with the evacuation of residents to a rest centre. The scene was left with the management of the building.”
The Standard have approached Prime for comment.