July 14, 2026, 3:07 p.mJuly 14, 2026, 3:30 p.m
Firefighters were able to create a small opening to one of the stuck elevators.Image: Brussels Fire Department
Several dead people have been found in a building fire in downtown Brussels. Several lifeless people were discovered in an elevator in the building that was being renovated, as the public prosecutor’s office confirmed to the German Press Agency. The exact number of victims and their identities were initially not known. Six people were missing.
There was initially no access to another elevator. The public prosecutor could not rule out the possibility that there were other dead people there. According to the public prosecutor’s office, around 250 workers were on site. Elevators should be installed in the building.
Fire in elevator shaft
According to a fire department spokesman, the fire broke out in the morning. The firefighters responded to a small fire on the second floor of the building, he told dpa. As the prosecutor further said, the bodies were found after the fire was extinguished.
Two workers also suffered burns; they were taken to a hospital for treatment. A firefighter suffered heat stroke while extinguishing the fire.
The Oxy building in the center of Brussels once housed the Belgian capital’s administration and is currently undergoing extensive renovation. Among other things, luxury apartments, a hotel, office space and restaurants are to be built. There were more than 200 workers on site at the time of the fire.
(cpf, with material from sda/dpa)
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