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A newly opened shopping mall in Mexico City has partially collapsed, and it was all captured in a dramatic video. No injuries were reported, as the area had been evacuated by the mall’s operator after structural problems became apparent.
The 1.5 million-feet Artz Pedregal mall opened in March, and while parts remain under construction, shops like Gucci, Montblanc, Peyrelongue, and the first Starbucks Reserve Bar in Mexico had been open for business.
The collapse occurred in an office area on the top floors that stuck out from the main mall building. According to the AP, officials said a support beam failed, causing the sudden collapse. The destroyed building fell across lanes of a major freeway, which had been closed shortly before the collapse. The closure added insult to injury as the mall was controversial even before it was built—in part because it threatened to clog traffic.
The AP reports that Mexico City mayor José Ramón Amieva said experts were looking into whether the collapse was due to structural defects or soil settling. Let the blame game begin.