Search continues for survivors, victims of Belgium fire

Local authorities said that many people died in a fire at a construction site in Brussels and that the search for the six missing people continues.

An undetermined number of bodies were found in one of two elevators at the major renovation project in the central Place de Brouckere, where a fire broke out early Tuesday, a spokesman for the local labor inspectorate said.

“We had very little access to one of the two elevator cars and our view was that there were bodies of two or three deceased people there,” spokesman Brecht Speybrouck told Reuters.

He said six workers in total were missing and it was unclear what caused the fire.

The local fire department said more than 200 workers were in the area when the fire broke out and three people were taken to hospital.

The first fire, which broke out on the lower floors of the renovation project, was brought under control relatively quickly, Belgian broadcaster VRT said, citing the fire brigade. However, firefighters said that flames passing through the elevator shafts caused a new fire on the underground floor.