Radio New Zealand - Te Reo Irirangi o Aotearoa

Demolition begins at University of Canterbury

Updated at 7:37 pm on 25 October 2011

Demolition is now underway on the first of the quake-damaged buildings at the University of Canterbury.

Work began on Tuesday on the Mushroom and Siemon buildings on the Ilam campus.

Both buildings were badly damaged in the 22 February quake and have been cordoned off ever since.

A university spokesperson says there will be no noisy demolition work while exams are being held.

For the next few weeks, she says, the interiors of the buildings will be emptied, with excavation work to begin on 21 November.

Several other buildings remain cordoned-off but the only other demolition work confirmed to date is the core of the commerce building.

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