In the coastal city of Villa Gesell in the province of Buenos Aires, Argentina, a hotel collapse occurred on Tuesday morning (October 29), resulting in at least one fatality. Rescue workers are currently searching for individuals trapped beneath the ruins of this ten-story building.
According to a statement from the Villa Gesell municipal government, the ten-story Dubrovnik Hotel collapsed on Tuesday morning, with reports suggesting that there were seven to nine people inside the hotel at the time, including construction workers who were working on the site without proper permits from the municipality.
The BBC reported that as many as 15 people were present inside the recently renovated hotel at the time of the collapse.
Local media reported that an elderly man in his eighties lost his life in the accident.
Authorities in Villa Gesell stated that the construction site appeared to have been operating secretly, without adhering to municipal regulations. The city government had halted construction work at the site in August of this year.
Local firefighters, medical personnel, and police are working diligently to clear the rubble and rescue those who are trapped.
The city where the Dubrovnik Hotel is located is situated along the Atlantic coast, approximately 230 miles (370 kilometers) from the capital city of Buenos Aires, and is known as a popular vacation destination.
The hotel opened in 1986 and was undergoing a series of repairs and renovations at the time of the incident.
Argentina’s Minister of Security, Patricia Bullrich, announced on social media that authorities had dispatched two specialized teams to the scene.
She mentioned that the rescue efforts involve structural engineers, rescue experts, a police canine team trained in collapsed building rescues, as well as emergency personnel equipped with professional machinery and resources.
Javier Alonso, the head of security for the Buenos Aires province, informed a local radio station that four bricklayers working at the scene managed to escape the collapse but have been detained by the police.