Rescuers search for hotel collapse survivors in Argentina
Rescue workers among the debris at the Dubrovnik hotel
- Published
Rescue workers in Argentina were scrambling to reach people trapped under debris after a hotel collapsed, with one person confirmed dead.
The 10-storey Dubrovnik hotel, in the coastal city of Villa Gesell, collapsed early on Tuesday, with a local describing the scene as resembling a "horror movie".
Up to 15 people are believed to have been inside the hotel, which had recently been undergoing renovation.
Rescue teams were working at the scene attempting to free those thought to be trapped. The body of a man in his 80s was found in the debris, while one woman has so far been rescued.
Local authorities said building work at the hotel had been halted in August on the orders of the municipality, because the renovations were being carried out without the proper permits.
However, neighbours told journalists that work on the building had been continuing in defiance of the suspension order.
Monica Mino, who lives next to the hotel, said the building "transformed into a cloud of dust and we couldn’t see anything".
"We heard like an earthquake ... this was terrible. It’s like a horror movie we’re living," she told Reuters.
Argentina's national security minister, Patricia Bullrich, that two specialised teams had been sent to the scene, which is in Buenos Aires province.
She said that structural engineers, rescue specialists and a dog team trained in collapsed buildings were attending, as well as personnel equipped with specialist machinery and resources to help the rescue effort.
The province's own security minister, Javier Alonso, told local radio that four bricklayers working on the site had escaped the collapse and had been detained by police.
It's thought that the 10-storey hotel collapsed on itself in the early hours
Alonso added that neighbours told him that repairs might have been taking place in the hotel's basement and that the building then collapsed on itself.
Photographs from the scene show widespread damage to surrounding buildings from fallen debris.
Villa Gesell is a popular coastal destination with a number of hotels, resorts and beaches.
The Dubrovnik is located next to other hotels in Avenue 1 and is about five minutes' walk from the seafront.