The illegal Supertech twin towers in Delhi suburb Noida were razed in a controlled demolition on Sunday a few seconds after 2:30 pm, using 3700 kilograms of explosives. For minutes after, a thick, grey cloud of smoke engulfed the area, that is thickly populated with residential buildings.  

The demolition of the massive two-tower structure followed a nine-year-long court battle in which the Supreme Court agreed with the Allahabad High Court’s observation that the structure was illegal and ordered it to be demolished in 2021.

Also Read: Noida Supertech twin towers demolition: Airspace restrictions explained

While the Supreme Court’s original order said the demolition had to be completed within three months, it was rescheduled to the next year. Finally, August 28 was selected as the day of the demolition task.

Watch the demolition here:

The two buildings, called Apex and Ceyane, dwarfed the many other high rises around them, at a height of 103 metres and 97 metres. There were concerns about damage from the explosions to the closest buildings, one just 10 metres away. 

About 7000 residents from the nearby Emerald Court and ATS Village societies, along with 50 pets and 2,500 vehicles were evacuated from the area on Sunday morning. The gas and electricity lines were cut in the aforementioned societies early in the morning and several hospitals were put on standby to receive anyone injured.

Residents in nearby societies celebrated with drums during the demolition of the twin towers.

The twin towers, named Apex (103 metres) and Ceyane (97 metres), had 32 and 29 floors respectively and were built by Supertech Limited. Following the Supreme Court order in 2021, Indian authorities had tasked a company named Edifice Engineering with the demolition of the structure, which took around nine seconds to be completed on Sunday.

Also Read: Chetan Dutta, blaster who demolished the Noida Twin Towers: 5 quick facts

The demolition venue had only six people near the twin towers at the time of the demolition. Joe Brinkkman (head of explosive operations), Mayur Mehta, Kevin Smit, Marthinus Botha, a police officer and Chetan Dutta, the man who pushed the button that caused the demolition, were the only people allowed in the area. The demolition itself, however, was remote-controlled and was done from the ATS Village, another society near the illegal structure.

Following the demolition, the huge mushroom cloud of dust took almost 12 minutes to settle while vibrations were felt in a 30-metre radius.

A National Disaster Management Force (NDRF) team, accompanied by teams from Central Building Research Institute (CBRI) and several other authorities are expected to arrive at the demolition site at 3:30 pm.