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Key Points

A devastating building collapse in Madrid's Opera neighborhood resulted in four construction workers losing their lives during a renovation project. The victims were international workers from Ecuador, Mali, and Guinea-Conakry, employed by construction company ANKY. Authorities revealed that a massive eight-ton concrete slab fell from the sixth floor, causing the catastrophic incident. Investigations are ongoing to determine the precise cause of the structural failure.

Key Points: Madrid Building Collapse Kills Four Construction Workers

  • Four international construction workers died in sudden building collapse
  • Victims from Ecuador, Mali, and Guinea-Conakry
  • Building had previous unfavorable technical inspections
  • Renovation project was converting former office into hotel
2 min read

Spain: Four killed, three injured after under-construction building collapses in Madrid

Tragic construction site accident in Madrid's Opera neighborhood claims four international workers' lives during building renovation project

"A concrete slab weighing about eight tonnes fell from the sixth floor - Fire Department Source"

Madrid, Oct 8

Four people were killed and three others injured after a building which was being renovated collapsed in central Madrid on Tuesday, the local authorities confirmed on Wednesday.

Emergency workers found four bodies from the rubble of the six-storey building in Opera neighbourhood in Madrid in the early hours of Wednesday morning, Euro News reported. Madrid's Mayor Jose Luis Martinez-Almeida said that the top floor of the building collapsed on Tuesday at around 1 pm (local time), which led to lower floors of the building to collapse.

The victims have been identified as three construction workers from Ecuador, Mali and Guinea-Conakry and an architect involved in the renovation work. Construction company ANKY had employed all of them, as per the reports. Three other workers were injured after the building collapsed, with one suffering a fractured leg. None of them suffered life-threatening injuries.

Sources from the city council and fire department revealed that a concrete slab weighing about eight tonnes fell from the sixth floor during renovation work, Euro News reported, citing broadcaster RTVE. The facade of the building remained standing and apparently prevented most of the debris from reaching the road. Firefighters and police used sniffer dogs and drones to help in carrying out search efforts in the building.

The local government stated that authorities are still conducting probe into the cause of the building collapse, with Madrid's municipal police leading the investigation as it is a workplace accident.

The building had "unfavourable" technical inspections in 2012 and 2022 due to "the general condition of the facade, exterior, partition walls, roof, roof terraces and plumbing and sewage system", according to Madrid's online registry of buildings under construction. The former office building was constructed in 1965 and was being converted into a hotel. Jose Luis Martínez-Almeida said that renovation work of the building had proper documents and permits.

- IANS

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Reader Comments

R
Rohit P
The building had unfavourable inspections in 2012 and 2022, yet renovation was allowed? This shows negligence in the system. Similar issues happen in Indian cities where old buildings are converted without proper structural audits.
A
Aditya G
Very sad to see workers from Ecuador, Mali and Guinea losing their lives. Migrant workers often face the most risk in construction projects worldwide. Hope the company provides adequate compensation to their families.
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Sarah B
While this is heartbreaking, I appreciate that the authorities are being transparent about the investigation. The use of sniffer dogs and drones shows modern rescue techniques. Hope they find the root cause and prevent future tragedies.
K
Karthik V
A concrete slab weighing 8 tonnes falling from sixth floor? That's massive! The construction company must answer why such heavy work was being done without adequate safety measures. This could have been prevented.
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Michael C
The mayor says all permits were proper, but clearly something went terribly wrong. Proper documents don't guarantee safety if implementation is poor. This is a wake-up call for construction industries globally.

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