On Wednesday, at least two people were killed and several were injured in Madrid when a building belonging to a church partially collapsed in a massive explosion believed to have been caused by a gas leak.
“It looks like there was a gas explosion in the building,” Mayor José Luis Martinez-Almeida told reporters at the scene, where hundreds of rescuers filled the streets strewn with rubble.
He told Telemadrid that two people were killed in the blast, which authorities later said injured at least eight people, one seriously.
“At least four floors have been affected by the explosion in the Toledo Street building,” emergency services tweeted.
“The priests who live on the fifth and sixth floors are fine. We are trying to locate a volunteer who will work with us, “Madrid Vicar General Avelino Revilla told Telemadrid, according to Reuters.
A fire that started inside the Toledo Street building made it harder for rescuers and firefighters to look for other possible survivors, the mayor said.
A building provided residential training to priests and gave food to the homeless, a neighbor told Reuters.
A nearby nursing home was evacuated, although no injuries were reported immediately among residents.
No serious damage was reported at a nearby school, which was initially empty because classes had not yet resumed after a record snowfall in the Spanish capital on 9 January.
Later, the mayor said there were some people, but that they only suffered “scratches”.
Leire Reparaz, who lives near the port of Toledo, a local reference, said she heard a loud explosion.
“We didn’t know where the sound came from. We all thought he was from school. We went up the stairs to the top of our building and we could see the structure of the building and a lot of gray smoke, ”said the 24-year-old.
The videos and images posted on social media showed a feather smoke coming out of the building.
“The noise was very loud, very loud,” said Lorenzo Fomento, a 43-year-old Italian salesman who, in a nearby apartment, communicated by telephone to Agence France-Presse.
“I had never felt anything so strong,” he added.
With publishing cables