This year's World Demolition Awards has a very international flavour

Regular readers will know that the World Demolition Awards and Demolition Summit 2017 are getting ever closer. This year they are being held in London on November 2nd. And it is going to be a very international affair this time around.

Entrants to the awards come from a very diverse range of countries, with the list including India, New Zealand, Singapore, and Russia. The judging line-up is just as diverse, with 8 experts made up of 4 Europeans, 3 Americans, and an Australian.

November 2nd could be a flagship night for the awards, the summit, and the demolition industry. Make sure you're there to experience it live.

Source: KHL

After £6 million investment, world's largest JCB Dealer Depot Opens

Stroykomplekt (SKL) is the JCB dealer located in Russia's fourth largest city called Ekaterinburg. It has just opened a new facility that is some 3,500 square meters in size and has a showroom capable of housing 25 machines. It classes as the world's largest JCB dealer depot.

The depot required £6 million of investment, but is seen as very worthwhile due to the reach JCB has in Russia. One in four machines sold there carry the JCB name, and SKL servers customers in a 2.7 million square mile radius, so the company needs the ability to show off JCB's entire range of machines, parts, and servicing operations.

As part of the opening of the new depot, which saw JCB CEO Alan Bake do the honours, several JCB machines put on a dancing digger display which can be seen taking place in the image below:

9-storey apartment block collapses in Russia after gas explosion

As if to remind us how dangerous gas can be if not handled correctly, a 9-storey tower block collapsed earlier today in the city of Astrakhan, Russia, after a household gas leak and subsequent explosion destroyed any support the apartments had.

Although the video above shows a child being pulled from the rubble apparently unharmed, and a woman carried out on a strecher, it is thought 6 people have been confirmed dead and 9 are still unaccounted for. In total, 17 people have been rescued so far, with 6 of those in hospital.

What's incredible is how the blast seemed to impact just that section of a larger apartment block, suggesting the section walls between the apartments were much stronger than those between floors.

Here's hoping the remaining 9 people are found with only minor injuries from the collapse.

Source: The Telegraph