Four Dead After Six-Story Building Collapses in Central Madrid
Spanish emergency services have recovered the bodies of four people from the rubble of a six-story building in central Madrid. The building collapsed during renovation work at a hotel, local authorities reported on Wednesday.
Madrid Mayor José Luis Almeida wrote on X: “It is with deep sorrow that we confirm Madrid firefighters have recovered the bodies of those who went missing following the building collapse.”
The victims have been identified as three men aged between 30 and 50 from Ecuador, Mali, and Guinea-Conakry, who were working as construction laborers at the site, and a 30-year-old woman, the architect overseeing the renovation project.
Their remains were found early Wednesday, approximately 15 hours after the building’s internal structure gave way, during a search and rescue operation involving police, firefighters, drones, and sniffer dogs. Three other construction workers sustained injuries.
A construction worker named Mikhail, who had been pouring concrete on the lower floor of the building, was outside at the time of the collapse. He told reporters that he saw a large cloud of dust and ran immediately.
“I ran first. I wasn’t thinking about anything else. I had to save my own life first, and if possible, help others later,” he said on Tuesday.
According to Madrid’s online registry of construction sites, the property was built in 1965. Technical inspections conducted in 2012 and 2022 rated the building as “unsuitable” due to the general condition of its façade, exterior, partition walls, roof, ceilings, and pipeline and sewage systems.
The former office building, located in a popular tourist area near the Opera House and the Royal Palace, was being converted into a four-star hotel by developer Rehabilita, according to information on its website. Rehabilita did not respond to requests for comment from Reuters.
The property is owned by Saudi Arabia-based real estate investor RSR, which specializes in high-end hotels and tourist apartments in Spain and Portugal. RSR purchased the building in 2022 for €24.5 million ($28.5 million).
The renovation, approved by municipal authorities in December 2024, was expected to take two years.
(Exchange rate: $1 = €0.8613)
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