A multi-story building being renovated to become a four-star hotel partially collapsed in the center of Madrid on Tuesday, killing four people and injuring several others.
The bodies of two people who were missing were recovered from the rubble of the building early this morning (Wednesday, October 8), Madrid emergency services said in a post on X.
Rescuers recovered two more bodies shortly before midnight yesterday.
Workers from Mali, Guinea, and Equatorial Guinea were among the dead, according to the Spanish news agency EFE.
At least three people have been injured, one of whom is hospitalized with fractures.
According to reports, around 30-40 people were working in the building at the time of the collapse, according to EFE, while information about the missing people is still unclear.
“Several structures on the roof of the building, which was under renovation, collapsed,” Beatriz Martin, a spokesperson for Madrid’s emergency services, told reporters. And he made it clear that it is still too early to talk about the cause of the accident.
However, because it is a work accident, the Madrid Judicial Police are “responsible for investigating the incident,” the Madrid emergency services said in another post on X.
A few hours before the bodies were recovered, Madrid Mayor Jose Luis Martinez-Almeida described the search for the missing in the rubble as a “complex and difficult task,” adding that police dogs were called in to assist.
Witnesses and passersby reported hearing a loud bang and seeing thick smoke when the building collapsed around 1 p.m. local time yesterday.
The building
The building that collapsed, located near the popular Puerta del Sol square, was undergoing renovations to be converted into a four-star hotel.
It had been abandoned for a long time and the reconstruction work would take two years, according to the Spanish newspaper El Pais.
According to the building registry, the building was constructed in 1965, has six floors, and includes an underground garage. The plot of land has an area of 1,070 square meters.
