Rescue operation hampered by collapse fears
The rescue effort in the wreckage of the World Trade Centre was temporarily called off tonight as fears mounted that another building may collapse.
One Liberty Plaza, a 743-foot tall, 54-storey building, was under threat of toppling after a partial collapse of the building, rescue officials confirmed.
An immediate evacuation of rescue workers and people close to the scene was put in place because of the risk.
Windows and parts of the outside of the building could be seen peeling away, but no failure in the building was obvious to the naked eye.
The building was beside the destroyed twin towers but had apparently survived the initial destruction.
The evacuation came as fears had also mounted for the safety of Number Five World Trade Centre, a smaller office block which was part of the complex.
It had suffered a partial collapse when the twin towers fell and rescue officials were risking their lives by working on top of it to gain access to the scene of devastation.
CNN reporter Gary Schulmann said he had been at the very centre of the rescue effort when he saw the building tilt and windows begin to break.
‘‘People on the scene are very frightened,’’ he said.
‘‘They saw the building start to tilt and they saw some windows beginning to break.’’
The building had been set up as a triage centre for people pulled from the wreckage but had barely been used because of the tiny numbers being rescued.
And fears were also growing over the stump of pillars from World Trade Centre Number Two which had remained standing.
‘‘Those pillars from that tower look very precarious and they were very concerned about that,’’ said Mr Schulmann.
