Vienna apartment house evacuated over collapse fears
Hundreds of residents were evacuated in Vienna yesterday (Sun) over fears their apartment building might collapse.Officials said the renters of the 100-odd apartments in Machstraße will be kept from returning until at least tomorrow.Experts feared the 50-year-old eight-storey building might come down due to activities on a nearby construction site and massive permanent rainfall. They decided to clear the house after noticing its subsoil becoming unsteady.This comes after dozens of renters – including opera diva Anna Netrebko and fiancé bass-baritone Erwin Schrott – had to move in with family and friends or at hotels for several weeks after an old apartment house at the Vienna city centres Franziskaner Square was evacuated and shut down for weeks for necessary repair work.