Five-Storey Block Collapses In Teruel ‘Seconds’ After Evacuation

June 13, 2023June 14, 2023 Madrid Metropolitan spain news

This is the terrifying moment a five-storey building in Spain collapses “seconds” after it is evacuated.

A resident of the building in Teruel, Aragon Region, had called the fire brigade yesterday morning (13th June) after hearing a “creaking” sound.

When firefighters arrived on the scene, some residents had already left the building after hearing the ominous noises and seeing cracks.

Just as the firefighters finished evacuating the remaining residents, the building, which had been home to 21 families, collapsed.

According to local media, the collapse happened “seconds” after the evacuation was complete.

The cause of the collapse had still not been ascertained at the time of reporting. However, some residents have pointed the finger at recent heavy rains and a deficient drainage system.

Days earlier, several residents of the building had gone to the City Hall to report water leaks.

Hours after the collapse, journalist, writer, and literary prize winner Javier Sierra, who had lived in the building with his parents when he was a child, took to Twitter to write: “I want to send a huge hug to the families who saw their homes collapse today.”

Local police officer Angel Loras told local media: “The structural foundations were as delicate as tissue paper, completely deteriorated, and they caused the building to collapse under pressure.”

But, he added, “the important thing is that no one is missing”.

During a storm over Teruel on 12th June, 20 litres of rainwater had fallen per square metre. Days earlier, on 3rd June, a downpour had dumped 40 litres of rainwater per square metre on the city.

Building resident Elvira Martin told local media: “We called the City Hall. On Friday, we were there reporting that water was still getting in, asking them to have someone look into it, but they didn’t pay attention to us.”

Antonio Armunia, whose store’s warehouse was in the building’s basement, said: “The building wasn’t that old.

“The City Hall didn’t assess the situation and merely called the water company.

“Last night, I went down to the garage, and there was a lot of water. If it had happened while we were sleeping, we would all be dead.”