“It’s all gone”: The moment a building gets destroyed by mistake
A Sydney gym owner was left devastated after an excavator smashed through her building in a demolition mishap.
The Booty Parlour in Balgowlah will now have to be flattened after an excavator working on the site next door slipped on a pile of rubble and crashed into the two-storey building, leaving a huge hole in the wall and a sagging roof.
Surrounding buildings on Sydney Road were evacuated over fears that the gym could collapse.
The Booty Parlour’s owner Jessica Zukowski said she had closed the studio to celebrate her birthday when the incident occurred on Tuesday.
“I actually had had champagne with my husband because we were about to celebrate my birthday with my family,” she told 9News. “We got a couple of calls from friends – that’s how we found out.”
She said she lost about $200,000 worth of gym equipment from the accident.
“We’re not allowed in and we won’t be able to retrieve anything from inside, it’s all gone,” Zukowski told the ABC.
In a Facebook post, Zukowski said it was a “super sad day”.
“Our beautiful studio has been destroyed by the accident on Sydney Road in Balgowlah. Fortunately no one was in the studio when the accident occurred and everyone is safe,” she wrote on The Booty Parlour’s page.
“We’re so sad to say goodbye to this space but so grateful for the memories. It’s been an amazing two-plus years of operation here.”
Scroll through the gallery to see the pictures of the building.
Photo credit: Manly Social