Several people were killed, and at least six persons were missing after a fire erupted at a construction site in Brussels on Tuesday, local authorities said. According to the local fire brigade, at least 200 workers had been on the site when the fire broke out, Reuters news agency reported.
According to the local fire brigade, at least 200 workers had been on the site when the fire broke out. (REUTERS)
The fire broke out early on Tuesday at the large renovation project on the central Place de Brouckere. Rescuers found an unspecified number of bodies in one of two elevators at the site, a spokesman for the local labour inspection service said, according to Reuters.
An initial blaze at the lower floors of the renovation project was contained relatively quickly, Belgian broadcaster VRT reported, citing the fire brigade.
Six missing, bodies of workers found in elevator cabinet
The spokesperson for the local labour inspection service, Brecht Speybrouck, told Reuters that the rescuers “had small access to one of the two elevator cabinets.” “…There we had a view that there are some corpses of two or three people who died,” Speybrouck added.
He said a total of six workers were unaccounted for and that it was unclear what had caused the fire. Flames allegedly went through the elevator shafts and caused a new blaze in an underground floor after the initial fire was contained. the firefighters said.