The bodies of an architect and three construction workers have been recovered from beneath a six-storey building which collapsed in the centre of Madrid, local authorities have revealed.
Three construction workers aged between 30 and 50 from Ecuador, Mali and Guinea-Conakry were killed as well as a 30-year-old woman who was the architect of a renovation project to turn the building into a hotel in the Spanish capital.
The victims were found early on Wednesday, nearly 15 hours after the interior structure of the building collapsed but left its facade intact.
A major search-and-rescue operation was launched by police and firefighters who used drones and sniffer dogs to find the missing workers.
A further three construction workers were also injured when the building collapsed.
"It is with deep sadness that we confirm that Madrid firefighters have recovered the bodies of the people who went missing after the collapse," Mayor Jose Luis Almeida wrote on X.
One construction worker named Mikhail was pumping concrete into the building's lower floors and was outside when the collapse occurred. He said he saw a large cloud of dust and immediately sprinted away.
"I was the first to run, I didn't care about anything else. I'll save my life first and, if I can, save others later," he told reporters on Tuesday.
According to Madrid's online registry of buildings under construction the property was built in 1965. It underwent two technical inspections in 2012 and 2022 and was classified as "unfavourable" due to "the general condition of the facade, exterior, partition walls, roof, roof terraces and plumbing and sewage system".
The former office building, located in an area of downtown Madrid popular with tourists near the opera house and royal palace, was being converted into a four-star hotel by developer Rehbilita, according to information on its website. Rehbilita did not respond to a request for comment.
The property belongs to Saudi-based fund RSR, a real estate investor specialising in high-end hotels and tourist apartments in Spain and Portugal. RSR bought it for 24.5 million euros in 2022.
Its renovation, approved by municipal authorities in December 2024, was expected to last two years.
