Brussels, July 14 (dpa/GNA) – A sixth body has been found after a fire at a construction site in a building in central Brussels, a staff member of the Brussels Prosecutor’s Office told dpa on Tuesday.
All those killed were found in the same lift that had crashed, she said. Some 250 workers were at the site when the fire broke out on Tuesday.
A fire department spokesman told dpa that firefighters, had been dispatched to a small fire on the second floor of the building.
It all began with what appeared to be a small fire on the second floor of the complex. The fire brigade responded, extinguished the blaze and then carried out an inspection round of the huge construction site, a public prosecutor said. “Many places were extremely difficult to access,” he added.
Emergency services were eventually able to make their way to a lift and found several bodies in the cabin. Access to another lift was also initially impossible.
Two workers were taken to hospital, as was a firefighter who suffered heatstroke during the operation, a fire brigade spokesman said. In the afternoon, exhausted firefighters could be seen outside the building complex, reaching for bottles of water.King and prime minister visit the scene.
As the recovery of the first bodies began, Belgium’s King Philippe and Prime Minister Bart De Wever arrived outside the building, which had been cordoned off over a wide area. They did not comment publicly. A number of onlookers were also at the scene.
Belgium’s Interior Minister, Bernard Quintin, said on X he was shocked. Germany’s ambassador to Belgium, Martin Kotthaus, also expressed his condolences on the platform.
The Oxy building, in a pedestrian zone in the centre of Brussels, is currently being renovated. It previously served as a seat of the Belgian capital’s administration but is now to be converted into a multifunctional building with offices, restaurants, hotel rooms and apartments.
According to earlier information, the project is due to be completed by the end of 2026. The companies behind the project are Whitewood and Immobel. Immobel said it had learned with deep dismay of the victims of the fire at the construction site.
GNA