Fourteen people were staying in the hotel in Kröv, western Germany, when one of the building’s floors collapsed.
Two people, a woman and a man, were killed when a hotel collapsed in Kröv on the Moselle in western Germany.
“Unfortunately, we must also deplore two deaths, a woman and a man.“, said Jörg Teusch, fire and disaster inspector, at a press conference.
Fourteen people were in the hotel when one of the building’s floors collapsed around 11 p.m. on Tuesday.
Police say five of them were able to escape the building unharmed, but nine others were trapped.
“You have to proceed with caution, because the whole structure of the building is like a house of cards. If you draw the wrong card, the building will collapse.“, explained Inspector Jörg Teusch.
Emergency services were able to extract four people from the rubble, including a two-year-old child and his mother.
“We have contact with seven people trapped under the rubble, four of these seven were rescued with minor injuries as if by miracle.the inspector said. However, we currently have three people who are still trapped, but who we have contact with and who the emergency services are working on. But these people are trapped in the debris and are probably more seriously injured..”
Authorities also evacuated 31 people from the area around the damaged building.
They said 250 rescuers, including drone specialists, were on the scene, along with rescue dogs.
Regional public broadcaster SWR said witnesses reported hearing a boom and seeing a large cloud of dust at the time of the collapse.
The cause of the collapse has not yet been explained.
Rhineland-Palatinate Interior Minister Michael Ebling spoke of “a very unusual event” and an “extraordinarily difficult operation“.
The town of Kröv is located on the Moselle River, near the large tourist town of Traben-Trarbach. It has around 2,200 inhabitants.
