Builder trapped as office block collapses

Rescuers were still struggling late last night to free the man, who was buried in rubble when the top two floors caved in.

Stunned office workers reported hearing a loud bang just after 4pm yesterday, with many fearing a bomb had been set off.

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The scenes in Dean Farrar Street

Masonry from the upper storeys smashed into the street below.

Justin Linger, who was in the building in Westminster when it collapsed, said: "It was more than a noise - it was just a feeling of the building actually physically moving. It was quite disconcerting."

One delivery driver had an incredibly lucky escape when a block of concrete crashed through his windscreen just seconds after he parked outside the building.

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Close shave: Scattered debris on Dean Farrar Street from the collapsed building

Paul Connew, head of communications at medical charity Sparks, which is next door in Dean Farrar Street, said the driver had been just seconds away from death.

He added: "He had just got out of his van to deliver a package to our office when suddenly a massive slab of concrete crashed through his windscreen.

"I have no doubt that if he'd been in the van at the time he would have been crushed to death."

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The top two floors of the Queen's Gate Building office block have caved in

The Queens Gate building, just yards from New Scotland Yard, is currently being renovated. It houses the office of Labour chairman Hazel Blears.

Police said only one person was taken to hospital with minor injuries.

They added that the early indications pointed to a structural failure causing the collapse.

Some five hours after the collapse, a spokesman for London Fire Brigade said they had finally spoken to the victim, who is thought to be from Romania, through an interpreter.