The emergency services in Antwerp will continue to search for six missing construction workers tonight, at the location where a school is under construction this afternoon. collapsed. One of the six is certain that he has died, for the five others there is still hope that they can be retrieved alive from under the rubble.
The fire brigade installs large lamps to illuminate the construction site. Debris is moved with cranes and the search for victims with sniffer dogs continues in the dark. Ten people have already been pulled from the rubble alive and a dozen others got out on their own. Nine others are still in hospital.
delivery
The accident happened in New South, a new neighborhood along the Scheldt quays where a lot of construction is taking place. It is not yet clear what happened and whether any mistakes were made in the construction of the school building, which would open its doors on September 1.
In Belgian media, local residents say that they worked hard to meet that date. The collapsed building, called KUUB, would house two primary schools and a gym.
Portuguese and Romanians
Belgian media found out that many foreign construction workers were working at the site of the accident. There were Romanians and at least one Ukrainian on the construction site. The Gazet van Antwerpen writes that the Portuguese Carlos Rochas is one of the six missing. He has lived in Antwerp for a year and worked for a subcontractor.
His wife Adriana still has no information about his condition: “Shortly after the building collapsed I tried to call my husband, but I could not reach him,” she says. against the newspaper. “I don’t know where he is or what his condition is.”
A local resident who works at a hospital said she heard a lot of screaming. “I went downstairs in my pajamas to help,” she tells the Gazet. The fire brigade brought the injured to a field between the buildings. “I’ve learned that the quietest victims are often the worst off, so I’ve started worrying about that.”
Later, Minister of the Interior Annelies Verlinden also visited the disaster site. She spoke of a “terrible drama” and expressed condolences to victims and their loved ones.
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