Customers of an east London bar have told of how they feared for their lives after the floor suddenly collapsed.
Thirteen people were injured during the collapse of the mezzanine floor at Two More Years bar, Hackney Wick, shortly before 5pm on Saturday.
A major incident was declared by the London Ambulance Service which rushed four injured customers to hospital.
One customer, Harriet McMahon, 29, was sitting directly underneath the mezzanine when the structure collapsed with a “loud bang”.
She told the BBC: “I tried to jump to safety but got hit by some falling stuff and we were just on the floor".
“I remember seeing the whole of the roof just coming towards us.
“When the dust settled we were too scared to look around because I worried I would see a dead person.”
Another customer, who gave her name as Tamsin, said: “If we'd jumped to safety seconds later and it would have been a very different story”.
A group of eight friends involved in the floor collapse said it was “traumatic”, with another customer telling Sky News she wanted compensation.
Maya Welford, 26, told the broadcaster: “You don't go to a pub and ever expect the floor to fall underneath your feet.
"We just need something to compensate for that. Someone needs to take responsibility. We didn't go skydiving, nothing risky, it was just a very normal activity."
She was treated at Homerton Hospital for bruising to her head and back, as well as a bleeding ear.
One bar-goer, who didn’t wish to be named, said: “I thought I might die”.
In a statement, the bar said it was thankful that no-one had sustained any “critical injuries”.
“This does mean the venue will remain closed for now and all dinner reservations and party bookings are cancelled,” it said on its Instagram. “Our thoughts are with everyone that has been affected”.
A Tower Hamlets Council spokesperson said a structural engineer has been to the bar to assess the integrity of the building, which is privately owned.
