Another hotel crash in Moselle
Parts of a hotel in Kröv have collapsed. Two people have died, and others are trapped. Their rescue is proving complex, with fears that more parts of the building could collapse. Four people have already been freed.
Following the partial collapse of a hotel in Kröv on the Mosel, rescue services have freed four people from the rubble: a two-year-old child and two women and a man. Their condition was initially unclear. The spokesperson for the Technical Response Team of the Bernkastel-Wittlich district, Gregor Zehe, said: "The rescue is incredibly difficult." In the unstable situation, one must be precise about each step taken.
According to rescue services, there have been two fatalities. One body has been located, and one woman has already been freed from the rubble. Three people are still trapped under the rubble, it was reported at a press conference. They are said to be seriously injured.
According to the police, a floor of the building in the Verbandsgemeinde Traben-Trarbach collapsed around 11 pm, with 14 people in the house at the time, five of whom were able to escape unharmed. 31 residents in the immediate vicinity had to be evacuated.
Images from the scene show parts of the multi-story timber-framed building collapsed. The gable roof of the two-story building has caved in and is hanging askew, crushing the two floors on one side of the house. Windows are shattered. Rescue services arrived with several vehicles. Around 250 rescue workers, including firefighters, medical services, police, THW, and special forces, as well as search and rescue dogs and drone units, are on site.
The fire department was initially unable to enter the building due to the imminent risk of collapse. The Technical Relief Agency has set up measuring points in front of the hotel to monitor any movement in the building or whether it can be entered. Due to fears that further parts of the hotel could collapse and cause damage to adjacent buildings, neighboring houses are being evacuated.
The cause of the partial collapse of the building is still unknown. Neither the police nor the fire department have made any statements on the matter. Residents reportedly called the emergency services late in the evening. A witness told SWR that the floor under him had subsided while he was in the toilet.
The police are managing traffic and crowd control around the collapsed hotel to ensure the safety of the rescue workers and the public. Due to the instability of the building, the police have also evacuated neighboring houses as a precaution.
