Authorities are investigating the cause of a partial wall collapse in busy nightclub The Library last weekend, with police suggesting it was lucky no-one was killed.
The Library, in Northbridge – Perth’s entertainment district – was hosting an event called Thirsty, offering “strippers, cheeseburgers, whipped cream and champagne” for students celebrating the end of exams.
Around 3:30am, while the venue was packed with people, part of the southern side wall collapsed, sending bricks crashing into the carpark and side path.
Police officers were amongst those outside on Lake Street at the time, and some footage of the collapse was caught on their body-worn cameras. This footage has not been made available.
Officers immediately evacuated the venue and closed off access to the street. They conducted preliminary inspection of the rubble to try and ascertain if anyone had been trapped underneath; fire rescue officers later confirmed this using thermal imaging.
The club was bought mid-2017 by 27-year-old Yusuaf Khan for $4.6 million.
Three months later it was one of four venues targeted in raids by organised crime squads, following on from a wider investigation that began the week prior that netted an estimated $33 million haul, comprising 32kg of methamphetamine, 1.8kg of cocaine, 300g of MDMA, three firearms and $800k cash.
Khan was not implicated in the raids, but younger brother Ardil Khan faced serious drugs and weapons charges.
Northbridge has experienced high levels of rainfall in recent weeks, but the precise cause of the wall collapse has not been announced as engineers work to report on the building’s condition.
PubTIC has been unable to establish contact with the owners, but the venue remains closed until further notice.
My daughter was injured in this incident, luckily not seriously. She was in hospital for 12 hours before being released. She has finally got her personal possession back no thanks to the nightclub. Her phone is smashed and no longer working. She lost a couple of days off work due to her injuries. She has tried to contact the nightclub but without success!