A new take on demolition by hand

According to news reports, an alternative demolition technique that brings a whole new take on demolition by hand is being employed by former lumberjack Victor Gordievitch to bring down various structures in Belorus. UK contractors of a certain age and over will be reminded of the work of the late Fred Dibnah.

Victor uses a pneumatic hammer to weaken the base of the structure until it reaches collapse point and starts to fall, at which moment he sprints for safety. The reports say that he does not even wear a hard hat, with Victor saying: “that may seem dangerous, but believe me if things go south, a helmet will not save you.” Fair comment, I suspect! His only safety feature is his colleague Oleg Bouharov, whose task is to shout a warning loudly when the structure starts to fall.

The reports say that the Belorussian police hold the view that he has been carrying out demolition using this somewhat unorthodox method for so long (over the last 2 and a half years, during which time he has brought down 18 structures) without incident that they no longer even attend his demolitions to ensure public safety.