Thu 28/03/2013: A man and a woman are dead after a brick wall collapsed at the Grocon site
A YOUNG woman is fighting for her life in hospital and two other people are dead after a heritage-listed brick wall collapsed on a busy city street.
The 19-year-old woman remains in a critical condition after surgery at the Royal Melbourne Hospital.
The State Coroner is investigating the deaths of a 19-year-old male from Montmorency in Melbourne's northeast, and a woman aged in her 30s.
Strong winds swept through Melbourne yesterday, and one freak gust of up to 100km/h just before 3pm made the 3m wall fall onto the victims.
The scene in Swanston St, Carlton, was described as being like a battleground as frantic passers-by scrambled to free victims.
Premier Denis Napthine last night offered sympathy to the victims' families.
Police said they had tragically been in the wrong place at the wrong time.
The historic wall was part of the former CUB brewery, opened in 1858, which building giant Grocon is developing into apartments.
Emergency crews after the collapse. Picture: Mati Safi/Twitter
The wall was in Swanston St, between Queensberry and Victoria streets.
Debris was strewn across the footpath, opposite a tram stop frequently used by students from a nearby RMIT University building.
Jonathan Lian, a university student, said: "There was a huge thunderclap. "It was really, really loud, and people were rushing about in all different directions."
He said there were about three or four people near the wall when it fell.
"One guy barely got away," he said.
The brick wall had been reinforced by a wooden hoarding.
Pesestrians rush to help people caught under the horror wall collapse. Picture: Jonathan Lian/Twitter
But the wall and the timber collapsed under strong winds that, according to the weather bureau's Melbourne station, peaked at 57km/h at 3pm.
CFMEU state secretary John Setka said he was among union members who helped lift a wooden hoarding off the victims.
A man and a woman were near each other, and another woman was farther away, he said.
He said the CFMEU first-aid staff helped treat the survivor until ambulance officers and firefighters arrived.
The other man and woman appeared to have died instantly, he said.
"Maybe it was just a freak gust of wind and three poor kids happened to be there," Mr Setka said.
Jim Olssen of Carlton, 83, was on a tram going down Swanston St as the wall fell.
"The gusts of wind were very strong," he said.
Swanston St resident and RMIT student Lip Hyean, 23, said: "Many students walk past this wall every day. It's a popular route."
The owner of El Pronto Cafe, Natasha Weiss, 21, was making coffee when the wall collapsed.
"I saw the wall crumble like breadcrumbs from the top down, and fall on a group of people. You could see the panic on everyone's faces by the way they were throwing bricks away," she said.
An aerial shot of the Melbourne CBD wall collapse. Picture: Fred Zhang
Police acting inspector Ian Lindsay said no work was going on at the building site when the wall fell.
"It's a matter of being in the wrong place at the wrong time," he said.
"We're unable to identify the pedestrians at the moment, and we believe strong wind gusts made the wall collapse."
Dr Napthine said: "Our hearts go out to the families and friends of the deceased. Our best wishes go to the woman fighting for her life. This is a terrible tragedy."
The brewery has been vacant for more than two decades.
Building inspectors survey the damage at the site of the collapse. Picture: Mark Dadswell
Grocon is creating a $1 billion development of 1500 apartments in three high-rise towers and a major shopping precinct.
But two historic walls at the brewery, which closed in 1987, were protected under heritage rules and so were being incorporated into the development.
Grocon deputy chief Carolyn Viney said it would run its own investigation.
"We extend our sympathies to the families of those killed and to the person injured, and we also thank those who worked at the scene to assist in trying to rescue them," she said.
"This is a terrible tragedy for all concerned."
Picture: Mark Dadswell
RMIT said in a tweet: "Our hearts go out to the victims of the wall collapse in Swanston St at the Grocon site."
The university said counselling would be offered to students if they required help.
WorkSafe was investigating the accident.
stephen.drill@news.com.au
