Photos capture, frame by frame, the collapse of the apartment building at 22 Alkminis Street in Petralona, at noon on Tuesday (June 30), capturing the moment the building began to lean dangerously before collapsing.

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The four-story apartment building, which consisted of seven apartments, collapsed under circumstances that are under investigation, while according to initial reports, the incident occurred during work being carried out on a neighboring building.

The photos show the building collapsing at the very moment a jack was being operated on the adjacent building:

According to reports, the adjacent building where the work was being carried out—which appears to have caused the apartment building’s collapse—had a permit to construct a 5-story building.

Immediately after the collapse, a large-scale search operation was launched in the rubble to locate any trapped individuals. Specifically, substantial forces from the Fire Department and the 1st EMAK unit are conducting the search, assisted by two specially trained search-and-rescue dogs, while neighboring EMAK units have been ordered to remain on high alert in case their assistance is needed.

Five people have been taken into custody in connection with the case, including the owner of the building under construction, the contractor, and the supervising engineer of the adjacent building, while authorities are investigating the exact causes that led to the collapse.

“There were two lots: 20 Alkminis Street and 22 Alkminis Street. On the second lot stood a four-story apartment building from the 1970s, and next to it was an adjacent structure that had been demolished with a building permit, after which a second building construction permit was issued. “Logically, during the basement excavation phase, some error must have occurred that led to the collapse,” emphasized Panagiotis Charlaftis, Panagiotis Charlaftis, the municipality’s deputy mayor for technical services.

See photos taken after the building’s collapse:

Source: Proto Thema