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Europe|Hotel Collapse in Germany Kills 2 and Prompts Frantic Rescue Mission
https://www.nytimes.com/2024/08/07/world/europe/germany-hotel-collapse.html
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One person remained trapped under the rubble on Wednesday after a centuries-old structure collapsed late the night before.
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Aug. 7, 2024Updated 2:44 p.m. ET
A small hotel in the scenic Mosel region of Germany collapsed late on Tuesday, killing two people and prompting a frantic effort to rescue guests from under the rubble, the local authorities said.
Rescue teams were working on Wednesday to extract one person who was still trapped underneath the crumbled building in Kröv, a small city in southwest Germany, near the Luxembourg border. Six others who were caught in the collapse had been rescued.
A spokesman for the police in Trier, a nearby city, said that the trapped person did not appear to be seriously injured, and that the rescue team was able to communicate with them via cellphones and directional microphones.
“It’s complicated because of the danger posed by the moving parts of the building,” he said. “This is the problem. Our priority is to save lives.”
The hotel, which dates back to at least the 18th century, collapsed late Tuesday when its second floor suddenly gave way while 14 people were inside, Stefanie Rodermund, a spokeswoman for the Bernkastel-Wittlich district, said. After firefighters arrived, five guests managed to escape quickly and unscathed, while six were later extracted, and two died.
“The second floor had collapsed onto the first floor, causing the middle floor to disappear,” said Ms. Rodermund.
