Authorities reported that a section of a hotel in Kroev, a winemaking town situated on the Mosel River, collapsed on Tuesday evening, resulting in two fatalities and leaving two others trapped in the debris.

At the time of the incident, fourteen individuals were present in the hotel when a portion of the building gave way around 11 p.m. Five individuals were able to escape unharmed as they were located in an unaffected area. However, others were caught within the wreckage.

Rescue crews managed to establish communication with some of the trapped individuals via mobile phones, but reaching them posed a significant challenge due to the nature of the collapse. One story of the building fell onto another, creating a precarious and unstable structure.

“We have to exercise extreme caution because the entire building is akin to a house of cards,” explained Joerg Teusch, the fire and rescue inspector for the Bernkastel-Wittlich district. “Any wrong move could lead to the entire structure collapsing.”

On Wednesday, five individuals were successfully rescued from the rubble, including a 2-year-old child who was extracted unharmed. The child’s mother was rescued with minor injuries, followed by the child’s father.

“We all had tears in our eyes, and I still feel the same now,” Teusch shared at a press conference. “This whole event has a deeply emotional component because when we arrived and surveyed the building, it seemed like we wouldn’t be bringing anyone out.”

Teusch clarified that the cause of the structural collapse has not yet been determined.

The original hotel building is believed to date back to the 17th century, though additional stories were added around 1980. Teusch noted that construction work was taking place on Tuesday, but it remains unclear if there is any connection to the collapse.

Regional broadcaster SWR reported that witnesses recounted hearing a loud bang and observing a large cloud of dust at the time of the incident.

The rescue operation mobilized 250 emergency workers, including drone specialists and rescue dogs.

“There was no option to utilize stairs, house entrances, doors, or windows, because they were simply no longer present,” Teusch stated.

Authorities evacuated 21 individuals from three buildings adjacent to the damaged hotel.

At the time of the collapse, the hotel guests were primarily German, with the exception of a Dutch family. Two German nationals, a man and a woman, perished in the incident.

Kroev, located on a picturesque stretch of the Mosel River near the larger resort town of Traben-Trarbach, has a population of approximately 2,200 residents.