Story By: John Feng, Sub Editor: Joseph Golder, Asia Wire Report  

Video Credit: AsiaWire

This is the moment a newly built residential block is torn down in a coordinated demolition lasting just seconds before a single owner has even moved into the building.

The 18-storey tower block in Shihe District in the city of Xinyang, in Central China’s Henan Province, was razed to the ground using a total of 264 kilogrammes (582 lbs) of explosives on 20th January.

Local officials who announced the demolition work and evacuated nearby residents did not say why the building remained unoccupied despite it having been completed just last year.

Unconfirmed reports claimed that poor planning on the part of the developer as well as the structure’s unsuitable location both contributed to the decision.

None of its intended residents had managed to move into the building before it was torn down.

Footage taken on the day shows residents viewing what was reportedly the city’s first-ever demolition job.

The structure standing on the corner of Beijing Street and Xinqi Avenue measured 60.5 metres (200 feet).

It was laced with some 4,400 sticks of dynamite, which were detonated so as to allow the block to collapse onto itself.

In the video, a large cloud of dust and smoke can be seen as the countdown ends and the blast is triggered.

The entire residential block comes down on itself in about five seconds, disappearing into a pile of rubble below.

Officials said the demolition job was tricky due to the nearest residential building being just 30 feet away, while the nearest road was about 300 feet beyond that.

It was still unclear at the time of writing what would be built in its place.

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