Race to Save Survivors Trapped in Hotel Collapse

Authorities in Germany are racing to save survivors of a hotel collapse that are currently trapped.

On Tuesday, a portion of a hotel in the Germany city of Kroev, near the Mosel River, collapsed, resulting in two fatalities and leaving others trapped. Authorities speaking with The Associated Press (AP) said that five people were initially able to get out of the building immediately after the collapse, but two others remained trapped.

Fourteen people were inside the hotel when one of its floors collapsed.

Rescue teams were able to successfully contact those who were trapped via cellphone. However, Joerg Teusch, a fire inspector in the Bernkastel-Wittlich district, told the AP that finding the trapped individuals proved to be difficult as two ceilings within the hotel were lying on top of each other.

“We have to proceed with caution because the entire building structure is like a house of cards. If we pull on the wrong card, this building is sure to collapse,” Teusch told the AP. “We all had tears in our eyes and I still feel the same now. The whole story has a very emotional component, because when we arrived, when we looked at the building, it looked like we weren’t taking anyone out.”

In total, five individuals that were in the hotel were safely rescued from the hotel on Wednesday morning, including a 2-year-old who was removed unharmed.

German news station NWR reported that some individuals nearby the hotel said they heard a loud bang and a cloud of dust immediately after the collapse. However, Teusch said that the reason for the collapse is still under investigation.

Teusch also noted that there was construction being done on the hotel earlier on Tuesday but it is not currently known if this was related to the incident.

Over 200 first responders, rescue dogs and drones are actively involved in the operation to rescue those still trapped inside the hotel.

“There was no option (to use) stairs, house entrances, doors or windows, because they were simply no longer there,” Teusch explained.

Among those in the hotel at the time of the collapse were several German families, as well as one Dutch family. One man and one woman, both German, were pronounced dead following the collapse.

Immediately after the hotel collapsed, first responders sought to evacuate individuals located in three similar buildings nearby. In total, 21 individuals were evacuated from the three buildings, as authorities sought to help those in the collapsed hotel.

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