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Date Published: 11/05/2022
ARCHIVED - Workers arrested for stealing valuables from Madrid explosion site
The men had been clearing the debris from the central Madrid apartment block where two people lost their lives
Three workers tasked with clearing debris from the site of the massive explosion that rocked the Salamanca district in central Madrid last week have been arrested for stealing valuables found in the rubble.
According to the National Police, several residents of the destroyed apartment building on the upmarket Calle del General Pardiñas complained on Monday May 9 that some personal items were missing, and officers discovered that the three men clearing the rubble had swiped expensive perfumes and jewellery from the building.
Many of the stolen goods were later recognised by the residents and a 25-year-old Spaniard along with two Nicaraguans, aged 29 and 39, were arrested. All three were working for the demolition company hired to extract the rubble; one has a previous criminal record.
As a result of the thefts, the Urban Development Area confirmed that security measures around the explosion site will be “doubled.” A security team has been put in place around the building and an access control has been established so that only those authorised by the Madrid City Council can enter the area.
Experts believe a possible gas leak may have caused the explosion in the four-storey apartment building in the wealthy neighbourhood of Goya on Friday May 6, where work was being carried out on a third floor property. Two construction workers were reported missing after the explosion and their lifeless bodies were discovered in the debris almost five hours later. Seventeen other people were injured in the blast, one of them seriously.
The deceased workers were located in the basement of the building, where, according to firefighters, “about two metres of solid rubble from a brick wall” had buried the men.
Three people were taken to the La Princesa hospital for their injuries. One of them, an 84-year-old man, remains in the intensive care unit while a 36-year-old woman who is 20 weeks pregnant has since been discharged.
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