Three bodies found after Badalona building collapse
Firefighters working since yesterday morning were searching for three neighbors of the apartment block
In the early hours of Wednesday, firefighters found the three bodies of three neighbors in the ruins of the building that collapsed on Tuesday, at Canigó Street number 9 in Badalona.
According to the Catalan News Agency (ACN), the bodies were found with the help of the dogs unit. After the collapse on Tuesday, the search began for the three people who were registered as living in the building but whose whereabouts hadn’t yet been confirmed.
The three people were living in different apartments, and one of them was making a video call when the building collapsed, according to sources close to the deceased.
The victims have been identified as a foreign woman who lived in Badalona with two daughters and without any other family members residing in Spain, a young man who had just become a father, and a 59-year-old woman working at ONCE.
Firefighters worked through the night to find the victims and by Wednesday afternoon have finished their work clearing the rubble.
So far, no reason for the collapse has been found, and Albiol noted that the residents passed the technical checks in January.
Help for families and neighbors
All of the survivors have spent the night with friends and family, except for the families of the missing people, who spent the night in a retirement home in the Raval neighborhood. Two other families have spent the night in hotels in Badalona and Barcelona.
Albiol has promised help and counseling for all those affected “so that they can return to normality as soon as possible.”
Although by law the city council is only legally obliged to provide shelter for two days, the Badalona mayor stressed that the city council would do “whatever is necessary” beyond the legal obligations.
Having learned that one of the victims was the mother of two minors without any other family network in the country, the Badalona council contacted the Catalan government on Tuesday to address this. "They are alone, it really affected me," said Albiol.
Sources from the social law department pointed out to the Catalan News Agency that the General Directorate of Child Care and Adolescence (DGAIA) will protect minors.
Three days of mourning
The mayor of Badalona is meeting with those affected on Wednesday, and the Badalona city council has declared three days of mourning starting Wednesday.
At 17:30 on Wednesday, a minute's silence was held in honor of the victims at Plaça de la Vila in Badalona.
Condolences from Catalan president
On social media X, the Catalan president, Pere Aragonès, has offered his condolences to the relatives and loved ones of the victims of "the tragic accident” and has promised “to get to the bottom of the causes” of the collapse.