Death toll rises to 6 in Tenerife building collapse

Several firefighters work in the search of victims among debris of a collapsed building in Los Cristianos, Arona, southern Tenerife Island, Canary Islands on April 16, 2016.
PHOTO: EPA

MADRID (AFP) - Spanish authorities said on Saturday (April 16) they had pulled another body from the rubble of a four-storey building that collapsed on the popular Canary Island resort of Tenerife, bringing the death toll to six.

One person was still missing, officials said, after Thursday's (April 14) collapse in the seaside, tourist area of Los Cristianos in the south of Tenerife, near one of the island's most popular beaches.

The victims were four women and two men who had yet to be identified, city hall said in a statement, adding that four adjacent buildings had been evacuated.

"The occupants of the four buildings and the one that was affected have been rehoused in hotels and in a municipal camping ground," it said.

It was stilly unclear why the building collapsed.

Three people, including a 28-year-old Italian man who suffered a broken arm, were rescued from the rubble late Thursday, with two requiring hospital treatment.

Tenerife, the largest of Spain's Canary Islands off the coast of Africa, is a popular destination for British and German holidaymakers and retirees.

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