“A miracle no one was killed:” Woolworths shopper recalls horror as ceiling collapses
A Woolies shopper says it is a “miracle no one was killed” after a ceiling collapsed following torrential rain in Melbourne’s Templestowe store.
Chris Kounelis told Yahoo News Australia that while shopping with a number of other customers, multiple panels holding the ceiling together crashed to the floor along with a torrent of rain.
“The torrential downpour and subsequent collapse of the ceiling resembled a scene from Titanic,” Mr Kounelis said.
Rattled customers were shown the door while staff evacuated the building.
Just before at Templestowe #woolies. Multiple parts of the ceiling collapsed and all customers were forced to evacuate. Like a scene from Titanic. Stay safe all! #melbweather pic.twitter.com/bD3cqo2VHO
— Chris Kounelis (@ChrisKounelis) January 19, 2020
Mr Kounelis shared a clip of the store after the ceiling collapsed his Twitter account, and showed customers dodging the rain pouring through gaps above.
The Templestowe local said other shoppers were left questioning the durability of the roof.
“A few customers I spoke to immediately raised concerns about the structural integrity of this apparently paper-thin ceiling,” he said.
“Woolworths... clearly owes customers an explanation.
“It’s a miracle no one was killed.”
A Woolworths spokesperson told Yahoo News Australia no one was physically hurt during the incident.
“The safety of our customers and team members is our number one priority,” the spokesperson said.
“Our Templestowe team acted quickly to evacuate the store in line with our established safety procedures and alongside local authorities.”
The store was shut down for around five hours on Sunday before it reopened. Two aisles remain inaccessible to customers and other staff within the store.
In Melbourne, the northeast and inner east have been hit with severe thunderstorms, including giant pieces of hail.
Further rain is expected, with widespread falls of between 10 and 30mm predicted.
However, some areas could see isolated totals of up to 80mm or 100mm.
The wet conditions could lead to flash flooding in some areas, but the weather bureau says rainfall is unlikely to put out remaining blazes.