Several dead in a fire at a construction site in Brussels, 6 workers are missing | Today’s news
Several people died after a fire tore through a construction site in central Brussels on Tuesday, with rescue teams continuing to search for six workers still missing, local authorities said, according to Reuters.
Bodies found trapped in an elevator shaft
An unspecified number of bodies were discovered inside one of two elevator shafts during a major renovation at Place de Brouckere in the heart of the Belgian capital after flames broke out early Tuesday. A spokesman for the local labor inspectorate described the grim discovery to Reuters, saying rescuers had only limited access to the wreckage.
“We had a little access to one of the two elevator shafts and there we thought there were some corpses of two or three people who had died,” spokesman Brecht Speybrouck told Reuters.
It remains unclear whether the bodies found so far represent all six missing workers as rescue teams continue to try to reach the second lift shaft.
The search for the six missing workers continues
Speybrouck confirmed that six workers remained unaccounted for as the operation stretched into the afternoon, with rescue teams working to establish contact and assess the extent of the tragedy. The exact number of dead was not confirmed by authorities at the time of reporting as further access to affected areas of the site was awaited.
More than 200 workers were evacuated from the reconstruction project
The Brussels fire brigade said more than 200 workers were on site when the fire broke out, prompting a large-scale evacuation. Three people were taken to the hospital after the incident, but their conditions have not been released.
Emergency services, including firefighters and civil protection units, worked throughout the day to search the building floor by floor as the renovation project came to an abrupt halt.
The fire spread from the lower floors to the elevator shaft
According to the Belgian broadcaster VRT, citing the fire department, the initial fire in the lower floors of the building was brought under control relatively quickly. However, flames traveling through the lift shafts sparked a new fire in the underground floor, complicating rescue efforts and delaying access to trapped workers.
The cause of the Brussels fire remains unclear
Authorities have not yet determined what started the fire at the Place de Brouckere site. The investigation into the cause is expected to continue in the coming days as officials work to determine how the fire started and how it could have spread to the elevator shafts where the worst casualties occurred.
This is a developing story and will be updated as more details emerge from Brussels.
