The countdown started at exactly 50 seconds past 2:29 p.m. Ten seconds later, the twin towers — the 32-storeyed Apex tower and 29-storeyed Ceyane tower had stood tall for the last 10 years at Noida Sector 93A — would disappear from view. The over 100-metre-high structures, taller than the Qutub Minar, were reduced to 85,000 kg of debris and a thick cloud of dust.
Read | Noida twin towers demolition: Timeline of key events
Soon after the cloud of dust settled, a team from Edifice Engineering and South Africa’s Jet Demolitions, the two companies that carried out the task, along with officials of the Central Building Research Institute (CBRI) and the Noida Authority, began a structural audit of the adjoining buildings. A clean chit was given to all the surrounding buildings later in the evening.
