2 dead, 2 missing after building collapse in Madrid

At least two people were killed and two others remain missing after a six-story building under renovation collapsed in central Madrid, Spain, according to officials.

The collapse occurred shortly after 1 p.m. local time on Tuesday at 4 Calle de las Hileras, near the Ópera metro station, where the structure was being refurbished to become a four-star hotel, according to El Pais.

Madrid Mayor José Luis Martínez-Almeida said four workers were initially unaccounted for, three men and one woman, and confirmed that two bodies have been recovered from the rubble.

Speaking at the scene, Martínez-Almeida said it is “complicated” to believe the remaining missing workers are still alive.

At least three people were injured, including a worker who was taken to a local hospital with a broken leg. The building’s foreman told El País that between 30 and 40 people may have been working on-site at the time of the collapse.

Emergency crews worked for hours to stabilize the site before firefighters, police rescue dogs, and aerial drones began searching through the debris.

“The collapse began when the sixth-floor slab gave out, bringing down the rest of the floors to the ground level,” the mayor said. The cause of the failure remains under investigation.

The property, owned by the Saudi investment fund RSR, was built in 1965 and was being renovated by the construction company Grupo Rehabilita since February, according to El País.