380-foot Frankfurt tower leveled with explosives

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FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) - A 116-meter (380-foot) tower block has been brought down with explosives in Germany's financial capital, Frankfurt, in one of the biggest such operations in Europe.

Frankfurt's university tower, built in 1972, was demolished Sunday morning using some 950 kilograms (2,095 pounds) of explosives. Police estimated that 30,000 spectators watched as the block collapsed in a huge cloud of dust.

The university's facilities moved to a new campus last year. The tower originally was supposed to be demolished gradually, but authorities decided to bring it down with explosives after residents objected to lengthy and noisy demolition work.

A 250-meter (273-yard) exclusion zone was set up around the tower before it was brought down, and some surrounding streets were also closed.

Two new office towers are to be built on the site.