At least two people are feared dead and three have been left injured after a four-storey apartment building collapsed in Tenerife.
Emergency services in Spain said the injured were two women and a man. One of the women had been seriously hurt. Earlier reports suggested someone had died, but there was no official confirmation. The Independent reported that two people were feared dead.
Local police evacuated nearby properties in case there had been a gas leak. One eyewitness told the paper there was a loud bang, and then half the building collapsed. Work was apparently being carried out to reopen a business in the building.
It is believed that three people were occupying the building but it is not known how many were inside the building when the incident occurred in the town of Arona at around 9.30am local time. As many as 15 people are believed to be trapped under the rubble.
A major rescue operation is underway and police have sealed off the area. A nearby building has been evacuated as a precaution and it has not yet been established as to what caused the collapse.
BREAKING: '2 feared dead' after building collapse at Los Cristianos resort in #Tenerife popular with Scots tourists pic.twitter.com/MN82egqU9D
— Heart Scotland News (@HeartScotNews) April 14, 2016
Breaking news.Major building collapse in Los Cristianos. Horrific scene. More at https://t.co/ReT1VFRzjT #tenerife pic.twitter.com/7Vce0F9ZTo
— Ross Browning (@RossTenerife) April 14, 2016