5 hours Ago
AUSTIN, Texas — The outdoor patio of the Norman Hackerman Building on the University of Texas at Austin's campus sits fenced off with restricted access after the ceiling that hovers over the patio came crashing down on Nov. 24. Newly released surveillance video provided by the university shows the exact moment the ceiling collapsed at around 1 p.
m. that Sunday. The video shows the area empty, with tables and chairs and a few people walking just seconds before the collapse.
The video was released this week after public information requests were made. In the video, UT campus police and firefighters are seen arriving within minutes. According to a UT spokesperson, crews with the Austin Fire Department evacuated the building as a precaution.
In a statement released the day after, the university said that no one was hurt and the building was reopened and remains operational: "The University will be working with outside assistance to assess the cause of the failure and develop a mitigation plan," the statement read. UT student Jaden Acevedo said she hangs out in the patio area frequently and learned of the incident through word of mouth. "That makes me worried how that even like was allowed to happen here," said Acevedo.
"[That] makes me worried how the buildings are constructed. That could have been devastating." According to UT's website, the building, which is home to the College of Natural Sciences, has been standing since 2008.
In their statement, UT officials said no research or research equipment was damaged. KVUE asked UT officials since their initial statement if there has been any information on how the collapse happened or if there are any updates on prevention plans. We did not receive a response at the time of publication.
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