Germany Two dead in hotel collapse in the Moselle town of Kröv
Two people have been killed in the collapse of a hotel in Kröv on the Moselle in western Germany. They were a woman and a man, said incident commander Jörg Teusch. Three people, presumably more seriously injured, were still trapped.
07.08.2024, 11:19
SDA
According to the fire and disaster control inspector for the Bernkastel-Wittlich district, the woman's body has already been recovered.
In the morning, emergency services were able to rescue four people, including a two-year-old child and the mother, from the rubble. There is initially no information on their condition. Due to the unstable position of the house, the work of the rescuers is proving difficult. Teusch said that the structure of the building resembled a house of cards. An entire storey had collapsed.
What happened?
Late on Tuesday evening, parts of the hotel collapsed - only five people were able to escape from the building. Eight people were trapped in the rubble, some of them seriously injured. The emergency services quickly make contact with some of them via cell phone. It was initially unclear how the partial collapse of the building could have happened. According to the police, residents had called the emergency services late on Tuesday evening.
Police: "Extremely demanding operation"
At the scene of the accident, you can see that parts of the multi-storey half-timbered building have collapsed. Concrete rubble lies on the ground. "Due to the extent of the damage, this is an extremely demanding operation, as the building can only be entered by the emergency services with the utmost caution," said a police report. Gregor Zehe, spokesman for the Bernkastel-Wittlich district's technical operations management, said: "The rescue operation is incredibly difficult." With the unstable situation, you have to look carefully at which step you take. According to Teusch, attempts were made over several hours to create access.
Around 250 helpers, including from the fire department and the Federal Agency for Technical Relief (THW), were on site - including special forces and a rescue dog team. Drones are also being used to investigate the scene of the accident.
Kröv is located on the Middle Moselle in the Bernkastel-Wittlich district of Rhineland-Palatinate. Many tourists visit the region, which is known for its winegrowing, especially in summer.
