'I felt the tremors': Apartment buildings evacuated after excavation collapse in Esquimalt

Approximately three dozen apartment units in Esquimalt were evacuated Tuesday morning after a collapse at a neighbouring construction site swallowed up a driveway and threatened nearby buildings.

Workers had been excavating between Admirals Road and Constance Avenue when the site's shoring failed and there was a "large movement of earth" on one side of the hole, Chief Steve Serbic of the Esquimalt Fire Department said Tuesday morning.

Two neighbouring apartment buildings – 656 Admirals Rd. and 665 Constance Ave. – were evacuated before 9 a.m.

The Township of Esquimalt opened the Archie Browning Sports Centre as a temporary shelter for residents who were displaced by the evacuation orders.

The building on Constance Avenue was cleared for re-entry shortly after noon, while residents of the second building were still under orders to vacate the property while geotechnical engineers assessed the site's stability.

'A RUDE AWAKENING'

Resident Wally Underwood, whose apartment was evacuated, said he awoke to the building shaking.

"I felt the tremors," he told CTV News. "I thought it was just the big trucks coming in from next door."

Underwood was one of dozens of residents out on the street with their pets and whatever belongings they could carry.

"Everyone’s kind of in shock," he said. "It was a rude awakening for some of us because some of us work late nights. Hopefully everyone will have a place to go."

Neighbour Conor Gish said he was not home when the collapse occurred but he got a phone call in the morning and came home as fast as he could.

"I got a call this morning that the driveway had collapsed," he said.

"We noticed it over the past week or two as they were doing construction that it’s been cracking in the driveway and everything. So we did know that it was compromised but we didn’t know how bad."

The property where the collapse occurred has been under redevelopment by Calgary-based Eagle Crest Construction.

The company is in the early stages of constructing Constance House, a six-storey residential building at 669 Constance Ave.

Eagle Crest declined to comment on the site collapse when reached by phone Tuesday.

Township of Esquimalt spokesperson Tara Zajac said approximately 15 displaced residents remained at the emergency reception centre Tuesday afternoon.

The volunteer-run centre has been cleared to operate for up to 72 hours if necessary.

While the reception centre is not equipped for overnight stays, Zajac said the municipality would provide hotel vouchers to residents who need them.