Three dead after building collapse in Buenos Aires

Aug 11, 2010, 16:30 GMT

   Buenos Aires - Two missing persons were found dead in the rubble of a building which had collapsed in Buenos Aires, bringing to three the total number of dead in the accident.

The body of one man was found Wednesday, while two others had been found the previous day. The three had been at a gym in the Buenos Aires neighbourhood of Villa Urquiza when the building collapsed Monday.

'The Fire Department will continue to work in rubble removal, but we are now almost certain that there is no one else trapped, because there are no relatives looking for anyone,' said Alberto Crescenti, director of Buenos Aires' Emergency Medical Treatment System.

   A further 11 people were injured after the two-storey building collapsed.

   Buenos Aires Mayor Mauricio Macri blamed the incident on an adjacent construction site.

'There has been huge negligence on the part of the site's technical authority, of the engineer in charge. In this case it is the same person who owns the construction company,' he told a press conference.

   At the time of the accident, workers were digging at the site, where they were to build high-rise apartments. The work likely disturbed the foundations, leading to the collapse of the gym.

   Officials claimed that the builder had not braced the adjoining buildings, in an effort to save time and money. Construction trade union UOCRA said it had filed a complaint against the company 'for not bracing unstable' elements.