The collapsed City Gates Christian centre had its topping out ceremony less than a week before it fell. Picture by Paul Bennett

The crane which towers over the collapsed City Gates Christian centre will be dismantled over the next 24 hours, with the site likely to fully reopen by Wednesday.

The building collapsed at around 4.30pm on Tuesday

Despite heavy snow forcing the demolition of the collapsed building’s steel frame to be halted on Saturday night, almost all of it has now been removed.

Workmen are now set to begin the “intricate” process of dismantling the tower crane left behind when the under-construction Christian centre collapsed in Clements Road, Ilford, at around 4.30pm on Tuesday.

No one was hurt when the building fell, with the 22 workers on site having clocked off just minutes earlier.

Andrew Morris, business development director for build contractors Ashe Construction, told the Recorder certain parts of the rubble have been identified as being of particular interest to investigators trying to find out why the building collapsed.

That wreckage is being taken to a site in Essex owned by Squibb Construction, which is carrying out the demolition works.

The rest of the debris is being kept near to the site of the collapse, with multiple insurance companies likely to examine it.

He said: “We had the guy who erected the building down there marking up steel so that marked up steel is of particular interest and will be taken to Squibb’s yard.

“Nothing will be discarded until such time as a number of insurance companies have looked at it. It’s not just our insurers but those of the steelwork fabricators and others

“All the parties involved have a potential for liability for the collapse until a cause is established, which could take quite some time.”

A hoarding will be placed around the site of the collapsed building once all the debris and the tower crane have been removed.

A section of Clements Road around the collapse site, as well as Handforth Road, remain closed.

Two vehicles, including a workman’s van, were crushed by falling debris when the City Gates Christian centre collapsed.