A small hotel in the scenic Mosel region of Germany collapsed late on Tuesday, killing two and prompting a frantic effort to rescue guests from under the rubble, the local authorities said.
Earlier, a spokesman for the police in Trier, a nearby city, said that the trapped person had not appeared to be seriously injured, and that the rescue team had been able to communicate with her through cellphones and directional microphones.
“It’s complicated because of the danger posed by the moving parts of the building,” he said. “This is the problem. Our priority is to save lives.”
The hotel, which dates back hundreds of years, collapsed late Tuesday night local time when its second floor suddenly gave way while 14 were inside, Ms. Rodermund said. After firefighters arrived, five guests managed to escape quickly and unscathed, while six were later extracted, and two others died.
“The second floor had collapsed onto the first floor, causing the middle floor to disappear,” said Ms. Rodermund.
