Hotel conversion project collapses, killing four

A six-storey building undergoing conversion into a four-star hotel collapsed in central Madrid yesterday, claiming four lives including the project architect, according to Reuters.

The casualties include three construction workers, men aged 30 to 50 from Ecuador, Mali, and Guinea-Conakry, and a 30-year-old female architect. Three additional workers sustained injuries.

Search-and-rescue operations recovered the victims’ bodies from the rubble approximately 15 hours after the incident, which saw the building’s interior structure collapse while the façade remained standing.

The former office building, constructed in 1965, received technical inspections in 2012 and 2022. Both assessments classified the structure as “unfavourable” due to deteriorated conditions affecting the façade, exterior elements, partition walls, roofing, and plumbing systems, Reuters reported.

Developer Rehbilita was managing the conversion project. The property is owned by Saudi-based fund RSR, which acquired it for €24.5m ($28.5m) in 2022. Municipal authorities granted renovation approval in December 2024 for what was planned as a two-year project.