From the first and second floors the fire quickly spread to the lift shaft. Construction workers were evacuated, including one person who had sustained burns, Walter Derieuw, spokesperson for the Brussels Fire Brigade, said earlier. Several bodies have meanwhile been located in the shaft shaft. 6 people had been reported missing.
"These are workers whom we know were working, but with whom we have been unable to make contact," Brecht Speybrouck, spokesperson for the Brussels Labour Inspectorate, said Tuesday afternoon.
“Two lifts are stuck in two lift shafts. The fire brigade has now managed to make a small opening in one of those lifts, and we have found several victims inside. It is not yet clear exactly how many people. It may be all six of the missing persons, but there may also be people in the other lift, or elsewhere.”
The fire broke out on the second floor of the building and spread. "The fire on the first and second floors was quickly brought under control," Walter Derieuw, spokesperson for the Brussels Fire Brigade, told Brussels media outlet Bruzz. "However, flames spread into the lift shaft, causing the fire to spread to level -2. This led to a fierce blaze that was brought under control at around 9 o’clock."
