A stop work notice has been issued for a construction site in Canberra's north after its excavation pit collapsed.
- The excavation pit collapsed about 1:15am on Tuesday
- Residents say they heard loud bangs and felt tremors
- Evoenergy expects power outages to continue to affect 50 customers
The backyards of three houses appear to be damaged after a wall collapsed into the pit at the site in Dickson.
Residents reported hearing a rumbling sound coming from the construction site for new Art Group apartments near Northbourne Avenue and Lowrie Street early on Tuesday morning.
Worksafe ACT said no one was injured in the collapse and launched an investigation.
That afternoon, Access Canberra said it had issued the stop work notice and was preparing an emergency rectification order.
They said building inspectors and a senior engineer had attended the site and were working with WorkSafe ACT.
Access Canberra construction occupations registrar Nick Lhuede said he had written to all construction licensees about the impact of recent heavy rainfall, and that he had advised them to ensure their sites were safe.
“I am calling on builders and developers to ensure that they have appropriate controls and structures in place for large scale and deep excavations,” he said.
The collapse is believed to have caused power outages in the area from 2:46am.
Evoenergy reported about 50 customers were affected by the outages, with power finally restored at about 5:30pm.
Art Group, the developer of the site, released a statement saying the cause of the incident was being investigated.
"Following the unprecedented event that affected Block 46 Section 6 in Dickson in the early hours of this morning, Tuesday 11 October 2022, Art Group is currently liaising with authorities and assisting affected residents," it said.
"WorkSafe ACT visited the site earlier this morning and is working with relevant parties to investigate the cause of the incident.
"Works on the construction site on Block 46 Section 6 have temporarily ceased until further information is received from WorkSafe ACT."
Dickson resident Simon Baker said he and his partner heard the pit collapse.
"About 1:15am last night we heard a big bang, [but] weren't sure what it was," he said.
"We looked out the window and there were some electrical wires bouncing about.
"We knew that we have a big construction site behind our house, so it sounded like maybe a giant piece of equipment – a digger or something – had fallen in.
"It felt like an earthquake or something, the whole house sort of shuddered."
After the collapse Mr Baker lost power for a short time before it returned, but woke without power once again.
"The electricity went out for a second but then it came back on," he said.
"It wasn't until this morning that it [went out again and] still hasn't come back on."