Club Med was reduced to dust yesterday morning — the first building ever to be imploded in Bermuda.

The landmark St. George's hotel, which stood derelict for 20 years, thundered dramatically to the ground at 10.20 a.m. after 730 lbs of dynamite was detonated beneath its columns.

Thirteen ear-splitting blasts signalled the start of the implosion and within seven seconds 28,000 tonnes of concrete had collapsed — to loud cheers and applause from hundreds of spectators gathered on land and at sea.

A huge three-tiered plume of smoke hung in the air where the 11-storey building had stood before finally clearing to reveal the flattened landscape. A new $300 million luxury Park Hyatt hotel will be built on the site to open in 2012.

Premier Ewart Brown and Works and Engineering Minister Derrick Burgess were on the keep at Fort St. Catherine — the control deck for the demolition — to press two buttons to blow up the structure.

Dr. Brown told The Royal Gazette afterwards: "It was just overwhelming as well as powerful. I had never been that close to an implosion that size.

"And in terms of context, to be able to do that at a push of a button; if I didn't have a measure of control I would think I was a very powerful man.

"It was an exciting experience, a unique and exciting experience. It felt great. There was a feeling of relief and it was just amazing to see the connection between a button and the building going down. I had a sober moment to reflect on what it requires to make change."

Mr. Burgess, who worked for years as a bartender at the hotel, said he had fantastic memories but it was time for it to come down.

"It has been 20 years that it has laid dormant. I think it's about time for the rebirth of something new. I hit the firing button and it was great once I heard all the explosives, because I was wondering if she was going to fall. It was exciting."

Yesterday's implosion, conducted by US experts D.H. Griffin Wrecking Co., took months to plan and marked the end of an era for St. George's.

The hilltop hotel with stunning views of the surrounding area, including Fort St. Catherine Beach and Tobacco Bay, originally opened as a Holiday Inn but that venture failed, as did later attempts to make it work by Loews and Club Med.

The 688-bed hotel was badly damaged by Hurricane Emily in 1987 and closed as a Club Med facility in 1988, devastating the tourism industry in the East End. The site has since fallen into ruin, though the staff quarters have been used by the homeless for shelter.

E. Michael Jones, former Mayor of St. George and now chairman of Bermuda Tourism Board, said the implosion marked the start of an exciting new chapter for the former capital.

"This is history being made," said Mr. Jones, who helped build the hotel, was a bingo caller there in the 1970s and promoted it to visitors when he worked overseas for the Tourism Department. "For me, it will be a good friend gone."

The implosion was planned for months and officials said yesterday they were delighted that everything went according to plan.

A 1,000ft exclusion zone was created around the site and residents in the 12 homes in that area were told to evacuate and seal off their properties by 8 a.m. yesterday. They were allowed to return before noon.

Fifty Police officers were involved in yesterday's operation, as well as firefighters and the St. John Ambulance. Police Chief Inspector Martin Weekes, area commander for St. George's, said the seven-strong Explosives Ordnance Disposal Unit had spent the last fortnight bringing in the dynamite and securing the site. It has been guarded at night by Regiment soldiers.

"It's been a lot of very hard work for the last two weeks," he said. "There have been long days up at the site, which was dirty, hot, dusty and muddy once the rain came, but it was worth it to see it got done safely."

Yesterday, many people chose St. George's Golf Club as their vantage point, stretching out on picnic blankets, climbing trees, peering through binoculars and readying their video cameras as they waited for the hotel to fall.

And at sea, in the Narrows Channel, hundreds of boats and jet skiers formed a horseshoe shape to witness the spectacle.

Lifelong St. George's resident George Washington, 81, said of the implosion. "It was quite spectacular. I remember it when it was built. I am glad to see it go and I will be happy to see another one go up. I hope it doesn't take too long."