Two floors of two structural bays at the multi storey car park at the St James Centre collapsed around noon yesterday.
Local residents described hearing a loud bang which was followed by an enormous cloud of dust.
No-one was injured during the incident and employees at the site worked into the night to ensure the safety of the public.
The rubble fell into an area which is known as the demolition exclusion zone where only trained staff are allowed access.
The plan to demolish the existing 1970s shopping centre and replace it with modern retail and office space was originally given the go-ahead in 2009.
Multinational Construction Company Laing O’Rourke were given the green light to start demolition work on the redevelopment in October last year.
A Laing O’Rourke spokesperson told the Edinburgh Reporter:” During demolition of the multi-storey car park today, two floors of two structural bays collapsed into the demolition exclusion zone.
“The exclusion zone is an area where personnel are not permitted and specialist machines work from the perimeter on the demolition of the building.
“The exclusion zone is further protected by a safety zone where only trained personnel are permitted.
“These measures are put in place to keep members of the public and site personnel safe at all times and allow for the unpredictable nature of demolishing buildings of this age and condition.
“As a result of these measures nobody was injured by this localised collapse.”
John graduated from Telford College in 2010 with an HNC in Practical Journalism and since then he worked for the North Edinburgh News, The Southern Reporter, the Irish News Review and The Edinburgh Reporter. In addition he has been published in the Edinburgh Evening News and the Hibernian FC Programme.
