Christchurch grain silo collapse: Champion Flour Mills caves in covering car yard in Moorhouse Ave

A grain silo at the Champion Flour Mill in central Christchurch has collapsed onto a neighbouring car yard.

A man living across the road from the landmark on Moorhouse Ave said he heard a loud bang and looked out his window to see a cloud of dust.

“There was just a massive cloud of dust so we knew something had gone wrong. It was about 7.40pm,” Craig Ashby told the Herald.

“We were sitting inside at home and heard this loud bang and just though, what the hell was that?

A grain silo at Champion Flour Mill in Christchurch collapsed onto a neighbouring car yard on Sunday. Photo / Craig Ashby

Craig Ashby said he heard a loud bang and looked out his window to see a cloud of dust. Photo / Craig Ashby

“We got everybody out, because ... I know grain is highly flammable. I high-tailed it out of there,” Ashby said.

A spokeswoman for Fire and Emergency New Zealand confirmed the incident and said one crew was at the scene now.

She said there wasn’t any risk to the wider area and said everyone had been accounted for.