Worker trapped under rubble after collapse of school in north of Spain is found dead

There has been a tragic outcome: the worker trapped under the rubble at the construction site of a school in Logroño, northern Spain, was finally found dead at around half past one this Tuesday afternoon (25 July).

Early this morning, two construction workers were injured and another trapped in a partial collapse at the building works being carried out at the old Adoratrices school in the city. The building under construction, located on one side of the old school, collapsed for unknown reasons.

According to Francisco Iglesias, councillor for Security, the building collapsed "in a cascade": the third and top floor collapsed on top of the other two, which fell one after the other.

At the time there were three workers on the site; two of them were rescued alive and taken to a local hospital. But a third person was trapped inside the building.

The emergency services called in rescue experts: first a dog from the canine rescue unit was involved, and later another one from the Guardia Civil was added to search for the worker; meanwhile, the National Police used a drone with thermal imagingcameras.

Firefighters from Logroño also worked at the site to try to locate the trapped person, but it was not easy as "it was in an area where there are remains of a slab hanging down and it is difficult to access", Iglesias pointed out at the time.

The work began by pulling down the remains of the floor slabs, which were hanging, "with a serious danger of collapse", according to Iglesias. Subsequently, the rubble was be removed by hand, "to try to reach the place where the trapped person seemed to be," he added.

In addition, the local official pointed out, "the buzzing of the mobile phone" of the worker could heard while rescuers continued their efforts t locate him.

During the search operation the nearby residents of Juan XXIII and Calvo Sotelo were asked to vacate their homes during the clearing of the rubble and surrounding shops were asked to lower the shutters.

The investigation, said the councillor, is now in the hands of the National Police to discern "the causes of the collapse". At first it was suspected, due to the strong smell that flooded the area and which caused the surrounding streets to be cordoned off, that it could have been a gas explosion. But that has now been ruled out: investigations now point to a structural collapse due to unintentional damage to the pillars of the building. It is known, however, that the building's lift was being replaced during the work.

In any case, the building is doomed: the collapse has seriously damaged the structure and, Iglesias confirmed, "that wing of the building will be completely demolished".

The municipality is already consulting the construction file to check that all licences, as it appears after a first examination, were in order. The subsequent investigation will determine whether there has been any negligence.

The empty building next to the Adoratrices school was being refurbished to open as a university residence. The building, sold by the religious congregation after being separated from the school, will accommodate up to 120 rooms with an investment of 3 million euros.

The project, which for the moment is the basic one, proposed the reform of the building, preserving the serving the current façade to which ceramic tiles would be fixed, and the partial demolition and gutting of the interior to adapt it to modern student accommodation for the 21st century.