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Madrid: at least three dead after building explosion

Madrid is in shock. A strong gas explosion occurred on the afternoon of Wednesday, January 20, in a building in the center of the Spanish capital, killing at least three and several injured, while one person is missing , according to a provisional official report. Six floors of this building were blown away by the explosion, according to one of the Agence France-Presse correspondents present on site. “There are three dead and one missing”, declared the delegate of the central government for the region of Madrid, José Manuel Franco, on Spanish national television, before adding that “there could be an additional victim”, because one person was still missing. The regional health department, for its part, announced in a statement that it had identified four hospitalized wounded men aged 27 to 53, including one in serious condition.

The building, from which smoke was escaping, adjoins a residence for the elderly and is close to a school. Firefighters and emergency services immediately attended and the police cordoned off the street. The deputy mayor of Madrid, Begoña Villacis, assured, on Twitter, “to follow with concern the explosion which has just taken place on the rear part of the church of La Paloma”. “Please don’t go near the area,” she asked residents.

Following with concern the explosion that has just taken place at the back of the Iglesia de la Paloma.

We have sent cash of @Firefighters, the elders are being evacuated from the adjoining building and we ask for maximum caution.

Please don’t let anyone come near the area. pic.twitter.com/gBfuxAWJSz

– Begoña Villacís (@begonavillacis) January 20, 2021

The rescue services began to evacuate the occupants of the retirement home, while the mayor of Madrid clarified that no occupant of the retirement home was injured. A large rescue tent was hastily set up near the site of the explosion.

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