A hotel in Kröv, near the popular tourist destination Bernkastel-Kues in Germany, collapsed Tuesday night, resulting in two deaths and several people trapped under the rubble for close to a day.
According to news outlet SWR, the building's gable roof collapsed on Tuesday night, causing two floors on one side of the hotel to be crushed together. Initial reports suggested there were nine residents in the hotel at the time of the incident as German police said they had been in contact with six of them.
As of the most recent update, all remaining people have been rescued.
Shortly before 7am on Wednesday, Trier police reported there had been one fatality and eight people were still trapped within the building, some of whom had suffered serious injuries. It was later announced that four people, including a two-year-old child, had been saved in the meantime.
At a press conference on Wednesday morning, it was then confirmed that two people had died in the building collapse.
Fire fighters struggled to enter the building due to the acute danger of the entire building collapsing. The Technical Assistance Service (THW) and a Trier police canine squad were deployed as a result. A reporter for SWR said THW placed measuring equipment around the hotel to monitor the building's movements and to check if it was safe to enter. The fire brigade was also using drones to gain an overview of the situation.
Evacuation of neighbouring buildings
Several neighbouring houses were evacuated overnight due to the danger of the hotel collapsing and causing further damage to nearby buildings. Residents were accommodated in a village hall in Kröv. Psychological support staff were on hand to help care for residents. A number of roads around the hotel were also closed to traffic in order to allow emergency services access to the building.
Several guests saved themselves
SWR reported that the alarm was raised at around 11pm on Tuesday. Eyewitnesses described a loud bang, followed by a huge cloud of dust around the building. Police said several guests had escaped the building on their own, as one had been using the bathroom at the time of the collapse.
