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A construction site collapse in the heart of Madrid on Tuesday October 7 has claimed the lives of four people, with emergency teams working through the night to recover the bodies from the rubble.

 

The building, which sits on Calle de las Hileras between the Opera House and Puerta del Sol, partially came down just after 1pm yesterday. What followed was a long and difficult search operation that stretched into the early hours of Wednesday morning.

 

Firefighters recovered the first two bodies shortly before midnight. By around 2am, they'd found the last two victims still buried in what remained of the six-storey structure.

 

The four people who died have been identified as Laura, a manager with the construction company who was initially thought to be the project's architect, and three workers named Dambéle, Alfa and Jorge. The three workers were originally from Mali, Guinea and Ecuador, aged between 30 and 50, and all worked for the construction firm ANKA.

 

At the time the building came down, two of the workers were in the basement toilets. The third was on the top floor. Around 40 people were working on the site when it happened.

 

Three other employees were injured in the collapse. Medical teams treated them at the scene, with one taken to hospital with a broken leg. His injuries were classed as "less serious", while the other two suffered minor injuries.

 

The Madrid Municipal Police and National Police have been handling the identification of the bodies.

 

Madrid's mayor, José Luis Martínez Almeida, was at the scene. As for what went wrong, he explained that's now down to the Judicial Police to work out. The investigation will need to determine exactly why the sixth floor slab gave way, sending it crashing down through every level below until it reached the ground floor.

 

Early Wednesday morning, the mayor posted on social media:

 

"It is with deep sadness that we confirm that firefighters have recovered the bodies of the two people who remained missing after the collapse on Calle Hileras. All our love and support goes out to their families, friends and colleagues during this extremely difficult time."

 

Isabel Díaz Ayuso, president of the Autonomous Community of Madrid, also spoke out about half an hour later. She thanked the emergency services for their work through the night, acknowledging how important it was for the families not to have to wait any longer for news.

 

The investigation into what caused the collapse will now continue, as authorities try to understand how a building site in one of Madrid's busiest areas could suffer such a catastrophic failure.

 

 

Image: Ayuntamiento de Madrid