A MAN has been hurt after part of a building collapsed on the A212 Whitehorse Road.
Emergency services remain at the scene, near the A222 Hogarth Crescent one-way system, checking that the surrounding buildings are safe.
The immediate area has been evacuated and the road has been closed to traffic from the Hogarth Crescent junction to the A213 Windmill Road.
It is understood several men were re-tiling the roof above Assurance Nursing Employment Agency, next to Fish Machine takeaway, when the chimney 'fell over' at about 1.20pm.
This caused the roof to collapse, with one man falling into the building and being hit by falling debris. The other man was unhurt.
Police officers, firefighters and paramedics rushed to the scene after eyewitnesses reported a sound 'like an explosion'.
A London Ambulance Service spokesman said two single responders in cars, a duty officer and a paramedic crew had been sent to the incident.
One patient, a man in his fifties, was treated for injuries to his back and taken to St George's Hospital in Tooting.
The owner of Fish Machine, next to the agency, described hearing a loud noise.
"It was like a big bomb," said the woman, who asked not to be named.
"I was worried someone had fallen down or something. My son was asleep."
David Lee, a surveyor for Croydon Council, told reporter Rachel Millard he was helping make sure the area was safe.
"We have got a lot of insecure buildings so we have got to try to start minimising the impact," he said.
"We are making sure that it [the collapse] is not causing any damage or risk to the public."
Whitehorse Road is closed in both directions between Cromwell Road and Windmill Road, and and public transport has been diverted.
Transport for London said bus routes 50, 75, 157, 450, 468 and X68 are subject to diversions and delays.
Motorists are being advised to avoid the area if possible, and there are reports of extremely heavy traffic. More follows
