Thousands evacuated after ‘loud crack’ in Sydney tower

SYDNEY: Australian police evacuated thousands of people in west Sydney late Christmas Eve, after residents reported hearing a "loud crack" from a 38-storey building.

About 3,000 people from inside the tower and in nearby buildings were told to leave late Monday, with engineers investigating after the apartment complex moved "one or two millimetres".

"Police received a call to a loud crack on level 10 of the building located behind us," New South Wales Fire and Rescue acting superintendent Greg Wright said from outside the Opal Tower complex.

Police "identified there was a crack in the building", he added, alerting emergency services. "Firefighters will be moving through the building with engineers and paramedics to asses what the damage is, and a way forward," he told reporters. It was unclear when residents would be allowed back into the building, with a temporary shelter set up at a nearby hall.