St. Henri church collapse

Some demolition workers can thank divine intervention after they got away safely when part of an abandoned St. Henri church partially collapsed.

Part of the structure of the Sainte-Élizabeth-de-Portugal Catholic Church caved in as a worker in a mechanical shovel was digging bit by bit at the building on de Courcelle at St. Jacques. He jumped to safety.

Patrick Chavenelle swept up broken glass and other debris that flew onto the street after the collapsed happened before his eyes while he was loading up his truck with building materials taken during preliminary work before the actual demolition.

"Oh, the heart was beating fast, it was beating pretty fast, it's a bad experience and I hope it doesn't happen again."

Part of the chimney of the building fell into the backyard of a neighbouring triplex, with bricks and stone tearing up the lawn, knocking down the door and landing inside.

"It knocked down the door and everything was in my kitchen," says the owner  who tells CJAD news she was asleep at the time, the crash waking her up.

The church was boarded up five years ago, after being vandalized and set on fire. It's slated for demolition to make way for low income and affordable housing.