One person has died and several remain trapped in the rubble after the collapse of a 10-story hotel in Argentina.
The Dubrovnik building collapsed early today in the coastal city of Villa Gesell, in the province of Buenos Aires, the local municipality said in a statement.
Firefighters searching for survivors rescued a woman who was alive from the rubble of the hotel, while an estimated nine people remain trapped.
An investigation was launched to determine the cause of the collapse, but the municipality of Villa Gesell said the hotel was being remodeled without the proper permits.
Javier Alonso, security minister of Buenos Aires province, said: “The hotel imploded, fell on itself and the last three floors tilted and crushed 25 percent of the building next to it.”
Alonso said neighbors heard something “like a creak and a vibration in the floor and a few minutes later it collapsed.”
He warned that the rescue process would be “slow” given the amount of debris, but noted that survivors were sometimes found under the rubble up to a week after such collapses.
Drone footage shows rescue efforts on the ground in Argentina today after hotel collapse
Firefighters and rescuers work to find survivors in the rubble of the partially collapsed Hotel Dubrovnik, in Villa Gesell, Argentina.
Rescuers search through the rubble for people believed to still be trapped.
A drone view shows the remains of the Dubrovnik hotel after it collapsed in the coastal town of Villa Gesell, Buenos Aires.
Alonso told reporters that an 80-year-old man died in the collapse and a woman was rescued from the rubble.
He added that between seven and nine people, presumably bricklayers working on the hotel’s restoration, remain trapped.
Rescuers began removing debris by hand while waiting for a crane and some engineers to assess the area.
“It was like a missile fell and split the building in two,” a neighbor told the TN television channel.
A 79-year-old woman from the building next door was rescued alive and injured after she was heard hitting a pipe.
‘We approached the noise and managed to hear the voice. “It was hard work, it took several hours,” Piriz told reporters.
More than 300 rescuers, using drones, sniffer dogs and probes with cameras and microphones, searched for other survivors.
Rescuers began removing debris by hand while waiting for a crane and some engineers to assess the area.
Spectacular aerial images show a pile of rubble where the building stood among other high-rise blocks.
An image of the 10-story hotel complex before the collapse Tuesday morning
The municipality of Villa Gesell said that work on the hotel was being carried out ‘clandestinely’ and had already been stopped by the authorities in August.
The foreman and three bricklayers were detained for questioning.
Relatives of the victims gathered near the building to wait for news of their loved ones while an excavator removed the rubble.
‘Time passes and I want my son alive. I want my son alive and I want him complete,” said Silvana Perhauc, mother of one of the missing people.
Dramatic aerial images show a pile of rubble where the building stood among other high-rise blocks.
The complex is located near the center of the coastal town and a stone’s throw from its beach.
Hugo Piriz, the town’s fire chief, said they were looking for “between 7 and 9 people” in the rubble.
“Work is underway to rescue a woman who says there is another person next to her,” he said in an interview with the TN news channel.
“At this time, although it is not possible to speak with exact details about the collapse, it can be confirmed that the structure in the collapsed part (the rear part) would have been modified illegally and irregularly,” the city council said.
‘The municipality of Villa Gesell asks residents and the media to be cautious with any information that may circulate,’ the statement continues.
‘These are key moments in which work is being done to prevent the loss of human life.’