Third building evacuated as collapse feared

On Sunday afternoon, 15 residents were evacuated by firefighters from the apartment building in Quellenstrasse in the Favoriten suburb of Vienna, Austria's capital city.

According to police spokesman Christian Feiler, the rescue teams were called in shortly before 2 p.m. when cracks were discovered in a wall.

Renovations had been taking place on the ground floor of the building during the week, which may have contributed to the problem.

A full-scale operation was launched by the fire brigade to secure the building.  The street was blocked to all traffic, and a tram line was suspended during the emergency.

This is the third building to be evacuated due to structural integrity problems this month.  On December 6th, a building in Mariahilferstrasse was evacuated after an interior staircase collapsed.  

A few days later, an apartment block in Kienmayergasse was evacuated when cracks were discovered in the walls and the stairwell.

In each of the three cases, renovations had been taking place, according to the fire department.