Ten-storey hotel collapse in Argentina leaves one dead and several trapped

Andy Gregory and Namita Singh
Tue 29 October 2024 

A drone view shows the remains of the Hotel Dubrovnik in Villa Gesell (Reuters)


A 10-storey hotel collapsed in Argentina, leaving one person dead and seven still trapped in the debris.

Firefighters searching for survivors rescued a woman from the rubble of the Dubrovnik Hotel in Villa Gesell, a coastal city 350km south of the capital Buenos Aires.

The building collapsed in the early hours of Tuesday, local officials said.

Among those suspected to be trapped are workers from a construction site allegedly operating without municipal permits at the Dubrovnik hotel, according to reports.

Firefighters managed to rescue an elderly woman from the rubble alive, while an 80-year-old man has been killed, local newspaper Pagina 12 reported, citing provincial security minister Javier Alonso.

Rescuers search for missing people after the collapse of the Dubrovnik Hotel in the seaside resort of Villa Gessell, Buenos Aires province, on 29 October 2024 (AFP via Getty Images)

An elderly man was killed and several are missing after a ten-storey building housing a hotel collapsed on Tuesday (AFP via Getty Images)

Mr Alonso was quoted as saying that there were no guests in the hotel, but there were workers staying in another part of the building, which was built in 1986.

More than 300 firefighters, police and other rescue officials were at the scene, in a rescue operation already ongoing for more than eight hours, online outlet Infobae reported, citing the city’s mayor Gustavo Barrera as warning that the adjacent building is also at risk of collapse.

Police and firefighters work after the collapse of the Dubrovnik Hotel (AFP via Getty Images)

Firefighters search for trapped people after a hotel collapses in Villa Gesell (REUTERS)

The Independent has approached the security ministry for more information.

Local officials alleged on Tuesday that they had detected and halted unauthorised construction work that was being carried out inside the building without proper clearance back in August.

A prosecutor has opened an investigation to determine the cause of the collapse, but Villa Gesell’s municipality said in a press release that the hotel was undergoing a renovation without the proper permits.

Infobae cited Mr Alonso as saying that the courts had ordered the arrest of four people in connection with the hotel’s collapse.