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Four people killed in collapse of six-storey central Madrid building

Local authorities reported on Wednesday that the Spanish emergency services had recovered four bodies from the rubble beneath a six-storey collapsed building in central Madrid, which was being renovated into a new hotel.

Jose Luis Almeida, the Mayor of Madrid, wrote in X: "It's with great sadness that we confirm the Madrid firefighters recovered the bodies" of those who were missing following the collapse.

Three men, aged 30-50, from Ecuador, Mali, and Guinea-Conakry, were employed as construction workers at the site, along with a woman of 30, who was the architect for the renovation project.

The remains of these two men were discovered early Wednesday morning, almost 15 hours after the interior structure of the building collapsed, leaving only the facade intact. Police and firefighters used drones and scenter dogs in the search and rescue operation. Three other construction workers suffered injuries.

Mikhail, a construction worker from outside the building, was pumping in concrete to the lower floors when it collapsed. He claimed to have seen a huge cloud of dust, and sprinted off as soon as he saw it.

"I ran first, and I didn't give a damn about anything else." He told reporters that he would save his life first, and then, if possible, help others.

According to Madrid's online register of building under construction, the property was constructed in 1965. The property was subjected to two technical inspections, in 2012 and 2022, and classified as "unfavourable", due to the "general condition of the exterior, facade, partition walls and roof, roof terraces, plumbing and sewage systems".

Rehbilita's website states that the former office building in a popular area of Madrid near the royal palace and opera house is being transformed into a 4-star hotel. Rehbilita didn't respond to an inquiry for comment.

The property is owned by the Saudi fund RSR. RSR is a real-estate investor based in Saudi Arabia that specializes in high-end hotel and tourist apartment properties in Spain and Portugal. RSR purchased it in 2022 for 24.5 millions euros (approximately $28.5 million).

The renovation was approved by the municipal authorities in December of 2024 and expected to take two years. Reporting by David Latona, Editing by Hugh Lawson. $1 = 0.8613 euro

(source: Reuters)