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Choir members who escaped Tuesday's roof collapse grateful

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Dozens of seniors have a better idea of just how lucky they were to escape a roof collapse in north Edmonton on Tuesday.

It was just before 1:00 on Tuesday afternoon when a large portion of the roof at the Northgate Lions Seniors Recreation Centre came crashing to the ground. Nearly forty members of a seniors choir group were rehearsing in the centre's gymnasium, just seconds before the collapse. Fortunately, staff were able to get everyone out in time.

For some of the people inside, the sevarity of the situation didn't become clear until they saw the aftermath of the collapse on television.

"It could have been a really bad disaster. I think a lot of us didn't realize until we saw the pictures afterwards." said Adrienne Hunchak, a choir member who escaped from the building.

"if we hadn't have moved when we did or the timing had been different, I think you'd be reporting a different news story about this time." Pat Wright, another choir member said.

It's not clear yet how long repairs will take, or how much they will cost. The city is working on finding temporary homes for the dozens of programs the centre offers each week.

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