'Won't be safe anytime soon': Residents of 51 units barred from returning to 'cracking' high rise

Residents of 51 units in a Sydney Olympic Park high rise remain barred from returning to their homes after they were deemed unsafe, and it appears unlikely they’ll be declared safe any time soon.

Authorities originally feared the 38-storey building, known as Opal Tower, was at risk of collapse.

The NSW Government has ordered an urgent review of all buildings at Sydney Olympic Park, following the incident.

Emergency services were called to the site on Monday afternoon following reports residents had heard and seen cracking in a wall throughout the morning.

Fire & Rescue NSW Urban Search and Rescue officers and specialist engineers, as well as the building’s designers and managers, worked late into the night to assess the building and deem it at no risk of collapse.

Just after midnight on Christmas Day, residents of around 100 units that had been declared safe were allowed to return home.

Fire & Rescue NSW Superintendent Adam Dewberry said he didn’t expect the other 51 units to be declared safe any time soon.

“It’s not as if it’s going to be tomorrow or the next day because there needs to be an element of work done, now it’s just how quickly that work can be done by the engineers to get in and get a really good thorough assessment,” Supt Dewberry told AAP on Tuesday.

He said authorities weren’t yet aware of how many people were affected.

“The actual number we’re not sure of, because of the time of year, because of the evacuation and people have sorted out their own accommodation and got themselves moved on.”

Residents of the 51 units that are considered unsafe were escorted back to their homes to gather essential belongings on Tuesday.