Two people have died and several others were trapped for hours following a partial collapse of a hotel in the Moselle valley, western Germany, on Wednesday.
The incident occurred around 11:00 pm (2100 GMT) on Tuesday in Kroev, a town approximately 110 kilometers (68 miles) west of Frankfurt. The cause of the collapse is currently unknown.
According to police, a man and a woman were killed in the collapse. Of the 14 individuals inside the hotel at the time, five managed to escape. Throughout the day, seven others were rescued, with the last person being pulled out late Wednesday due to the persistent efforts of rescue teams.
Earlier in the day, a man, a child, and two women were rescued with minor injuries. By mid-afternoon, two more individuals were saved, leaving just one person still trapped.
The rescue operation was challenging due to the need for extreme caution while entering the building. Around 21 local residents were evacuated, and approximately 250 search-and-rescue personnel were involved in the effort.
The hotel, which has a basic structure dating back to the 17th century, had two-and-a-half additional storeys added in the 1980s.
An investigation into the cause of the collapse is underway, and autopsies on the deceased are being conducted. The identities of the victims have not yet been released.
Interior Minister Nancy Faeser described the images of the collapse as “shocking” and extended her sympathies to the victims’ families, while wishing the injured a swift recovery.
Dutch media reported that a family from Urk, a small fishing town in the Netherlands, was among those affected. The mother and child were rescued alive in the morning, while the father was saved later in the day.
The woman was identified as 23-year-old Edi Hoefnagel-Visser, a journalist with Het Urkerland, and her husband, Mark Hoefnagel, 26, was reported to be seriously injured.
