Four dead after building under construction collapses in central Madrid

Four people died and three others were injured after a building under renovation collapsed in central Madrid on Tuesday, according to the authorities.

Emergency workers recovered four bodies from beneath the rubble of the six-storey building in Madrid's Opera neighbourhood in the early hours of Wednesday morning.

The top floor of the building collapsed around 1 pm on Tuesday, causing the lower floors to collapse beneath it in succession, said Madrid's Mayor José Luis Martínez-Almeida.

The victims have been identified in Spanish media as three construction workers from Ecuador, Mali and Guinea-Conakry — aged between 30 and 50 — and a 30-year-old architect involved in the renovation project. All were employed by the construction company ANKA, according to reports.

Another three workers were injured in the collapse, with one suffering a fractured leg. None of them have life-threatening injuries.

Sources from the city council and fire department told broadcaster RTVE that a concrete slab weighing about eight tonnes fell from the sixth floor during renovation work.

The facade remained standing and apparently stopped most of the debris from reaching the street. Firefighters and police used sniffer dogs and drones to help the search efforts.

The local government said that authorities are still investigating the cause of the collapse, with Madrid's municipal police leading the probe as it is a workplace accident.

According to Madrid's online registry of buildings under construction, 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".

The former office building was built in 1965 and was being converted into a hotel. Mayor Almeida said that the renovation work had the proper documentation and permits.