How to demolish a tower and hit 140 cars in the process
A demolition job at a former ski complex in Krasnogorsk turned into a very down to earth headache. The collapse of one of the old tower sections hurled far more metal and debris into the cityscape than anyone wished to witness.
Early estimates suggest at least 140 cars were struck because they were parked far too close to the work zone. Officials are talking about damage worth roughly one hundred million roubles, about 1.05 million euros. That figure is enough to make any motorist rub their forehead, especially if their car lacked comprehensive insurance or simply occupied the wrong patch of tarmac at the wrong moment.
A fragment of the column dropped onto the construction area, but the blast of shattered pieces travelled hundreds of metres. Windows burst, roofs bent, doors needed the encouragement of a jack. Three people were injured after wandering into the wrong sector seconds before everything went sideways.
Workers were on site on Tuesday morning when part of the column gave way without warning. The tower itself stayed upright, but the flying debris and loose soil turned the incident into a sprawling mess. It unfolded in a matter of seconds. There was no proper warning system and the cars in the nearby open parking area had no chance to escape. This was not a tightly sealed construction zone. It was a semi open patch of ground where the work appeared to run under far too relaxed control.
<h2>The long decline of a once grand indoor slope</h2>
Snezhkom was a vast indoor ski centre on the outskirts of Moscow, the first of its kind in Russia and for years the only place where you could ski on real snow in the middle of summer. Its 365 metre slope stayed below freezing, the snow was made on site and the complex came with everything from a snowboard park to restaurants and saunas.
The project opened in 2008. It also followed a familiar local pattern. Something impressive was built to prove that it could be done and that it would outshine everyone else, then it slid into trouble once the developer went bankrupt. After years of difficulties the centre faded away and by 2022 to 2023 the ski run was completely removed. Now the final columns are meeting the same fate, although not quite in the controlled manner anyone expected.
