A terrible tragedy has unfolded in West Germany. Per CNN, a hotel collapsed near Germany's Mosel River. So far, two people are confirmed to have died -- a man and a woman. Five people were able to escape, leaving seven people trapped and in need of help. Some of the trapped victims were able to contact the police. This meant that police knew where they were and what condition they were in. As of this writing, everyone has been rescued from the hotel's remains.
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14 people were staying at a hotel in Kröv. Suddenly, one story of the building collapsed near midnight. The police stated that the five people who managed to escape weren't in that part of the building. Rescuers quickly sprung into action. However, getting to all the trapped citizens was difficult as "the collapse of one story left two ceilings lying on top of each other," said Joerg Teusch (reported by the Associated Press).
"We have to proceed with caution because the entire building structure is like a house of cards. If we pull on the wrong card, this building is sure to collapse," Teusch said.
At a news conference, Teusch was able to assess the situation fully. "We all had tears in our eyes and I still feel the same now. The whole story has a very emotional component, because when we arrived, when we looked at the building, it looked like we weren't taking anyone out."
A Hotel In Germany Collapses, Killing Two And Leaving Many Others Trapped
As of now, the cause of the collapse has yet to be determined. The first few people to be rescued were a 2-year-old child and the baby's mother. Further, the rescue mission called for the help of 250 emergency workers, including rescue dogs.
"There was no option (to use) stairs, house entrances, doors or windows, because they were simply no longer there," Teusch recalled. Authorities also evacuated 21 people from three buildings immediately around the damaged hotel. Fortunately, first responders and the rescue team took action quickly. The careful extraction of the survivors proved to be a seamless operation in an otherwise awful tragedy.
