Madrid Building Collapse Claims Four lives, Including Architect
Madrid, Spain – October 8, 2025, 05:09 a.m. – A building under renovation collapsed in central Madrid on Tuesday, resulting in the deaths of four people, including the project’s lead architect. Emergency services confirmed the recovery of all bodies in the early hours of Wednesday morning, nearly ten hours after the initial incident.
The collapse occurred around 1 p.m. near the opera square in a popular tourist district.According too the Madrid emergency services spokesperson, Beatriz Martín, “Several ceiling scablings of the building that was in the renovation have collapsed.” The cause of the collapse remains under examination. “It is still too early to talk about it,” Martín stated.
Authorities had initially reported three men and one woman missing. The woman was identified as the architect leading the renovation project.Three workers sustained injuries; one suffered a leg fracture and was hospitalized, while two others received on-site treatment for minor injuries.
Eyewitnesses described a sudden and violent event. José, a worker at a nearby bar, told RTVE, “Suddenly you couldn’t see anything anymore.” Boyana, an employee of a local bakery, reported, “it sounded like a bomb, we were all very scared.”
Sixteen units of the Madrid fire brigade were deployed, utilizing search dogs and drones to secure the debris and search for potential survivors.
The building, located on Calle Hileras, had recently been approved for conversion into tourist accommodation. The city of madrid granted a license in February for its future use as a lodging facility, according to RTVE.