Two killed after wall collapse Two dead in Swanston St wall collapse MFB commander Lou Mele says two people have died and one is in a critical condition after a wall collapsed on Swanston St in Melbourne's CBD. Two people were killed when a brick wall collapsed in Melbourne's CBD on Thursday afternoon. Police said a man and a woman died in the accident on the corner of Swanston Street and Cornell Place, Carlton. A woman has been taken to the Royal Melbourne hospital, police said. People rush to the scene of the wall collapse. Photo: Broede Carmody and Jonathan Lian via Twitter An ambulance spokeswoman confirmed they had attended the scene and two people had died. They said they had taken one person to hospital in a serious condition. The wall was at the former Carlton brewery site. Swanston Street is closed in both directions between Victoria and Grattan streets and a blue tarpaulin lies on the footpath outside the site. Firemen and workers frantically dig into the fallen brick wall. The entire wall gave way and passers-by desperately dug through the rubble to try to help the people trapped underneath, witnesses say. RMIT student Jonathan Lian, 19, was one of the first on the scene as he was eating in a cafe directly across the road in the Arrow Building when the wall collapsed at approximately 2.45pm. I heard a loud noise, it was like a thunder clap. I thought a bomb went off. Mr Lian said the two victims were visible under the rubble as people ran towards the site, "their hands and torsos sticking out." Mr Lian believes the two victims were still alive when he arrived, as another person took the pulse of the man and shouted "he's still alive, hang on!" However, paramedics arriving on the scene soon after confirmed that two people, a man and a woman, had died, and another woman was taken to hospital with their injuries. "The police came shortly after, it was just terrible, it was just ghastly," Mr Lian said. Many onlookers shouted at the would-be rescuers to get away from the wall, Mr Lian said, because it could still be unstable. The wind was blowing dust in my eyes, I couldn't see very clearly. The dust was very harsh, it was sand from the bricks. The wind was really strong, it was like some bomb going off in the Middle East. I'm really shocked. Those two people didn't deserve it. A Radio National producer who arrived on the scene soon after the collapse told ABC Melbourne the wall appeared to collapse intact on to pedestrians and cyclists on Swanston Street. One witness told ABC Radio they heard ""what they thought was a clap of thunder"" after a large gust of wind blew down the street. John Setka, CFMEU Secretary, told ABC's Francis Leach that he and his colleagues went to help after they heard the collapse. "I just frantically ran across and started digging because I could see their head and half their torso out, so I was frantically taking the bricks off her," Mr Setka said. The whole wall just gave way. It's a tall brick wall, in front of it were sheets of timber ... the whole lot has come down. Mr Setka said he did not believe the victims were construction workers. One nearby resident, who did not want to be named, said he arrived at the scene after hearing about the accident. Thousands of people walk past here every day, I walk past here every day, a bit of freaky wind and it just came over. The man said the old brick wall was about three metres tall. The site is directly opposite the CFMEU office. More to come with Darren Gray, Michelle Griffin, AAP