A retaining wall collapse destroyed three Washington Heights apartment units and caused a temporary evacuation of nearly 100 residents in two buildings early this morning, officials said.
The aged wall between 67 Pinehurst Avenue and 81 Cabrini Boulevard crumbled at 4:27 a.m., an FDNY spokesman said.
A drencher of a storm on Friday and early Saturday morning likely contributed to the fall of the structure, officials believed.
It happened in “the blink of an eye,” said Earl Martin, 19, who heard a “grumbling” sound when it happened.
“It was a lot of rumblings and shaking like it was an earthquake. The wall just came down,” he said.
He felt thankful to be awake, he said.
“If I [were] sleeping, I would have died,” he added. “There’s so much glass and brick and debris everywhere. I would have been buried. I’m so lucky. I’m counting my blessings.”
He grabbed his grandma, he said, and helped her out of their first floor apartment.
“The wall was partially collapsing on my grandmother,” he said.
“There was so much smoke. We were tying to gather all our things and make it out alive.”
Martin said he took her to the hospital. There were no injuries at the scene, authorities said.
Residents were allowed to reenter the building on Saturday morning, but Martin’s apartment, like two others is unlivable.
“There is a huge hole in my apartment.,” Martin.
“The bedroom has a huge hole in the wall like a wrecking ball smashed through it.”
OEM ordered building owners to hire 24-hour-a-day fire guards while repairs went on since fire escapes were not accessible.
The Department of Buildings is investigating the collapse.