Madrid, Oct 8, (dpa/GNA) – At least three workers were injured in the collapse of a building, undergoing renovation in central Madrid, state broadcaster RTVE and other outlets reported on Tuesday, citing emergency services.
One worker suffered serious leg injuries and was taken to hospital, while two others sustained minor injuries. Four more workers are missing and being searched for in the rubble, according to the reports.
The six-storey building partially collapsed just after 1 pm (1100 GMT) near Plaza de Isabel II, also known as Plaza de Ópera. The building had been under renovation for some time.
“Several ceiling structures of the building, which was undergoing renovation, collapsed,” said Beatriz MartÃn, spokeswoman for Madrid’s emergency services, adding that it was “too early” to speculate about the cause.
Regarding the missing persons, the spokeswoman said: “Workers have told us that they are missing these colleagues. However, we do not yet know whether they were all actually working in the building at the time of the collapse. It could also be that one or two of them were elsewhere.”
Eyewitnesses reported a loud bang followed by a dense cloud of dust. “Suddenly you couldn’t see anything,” José, a worker from a nearby bar, told RTVE.
“It sounded like a bomb, we were all very scared,” said Boyana, an employee at a bakery near the scene of the accident.
Sixteen units of the Madrid fire brigade were deployed to secure debris, prevent further collapses and search for potentially buried people. Sniffer dogs and drones were also used, and emergency services extensively cordoned off the area.
GNA