AT least five people have been injured after a fire ripped through a luxury hotel under construction in Sevilla.
Responders raced to the Vera building in the Los Remedios neighbourhood shortly after 11am on Wednesday, following reports that smoke billowing from the site had become visible across the city.
One man was rushed to hospital with a burn to his face, while another was treated on site for a scorched forearm and the rest for smoke inhalation.
Emergency services said all the injured were construction workers, with one of them only 22 years old.
One of the workers recalled racing through the building to warn his colleagues of the spreading fire, in a desperate rush to evacuate the site as flames engulfed one of the facades.
He told Cadena SER: “We were taking measurements of various things as part of our day-to-day work.
“All of a sudden, we all ran upstairs to alert our colleagues – those who were on the first floor, the second floor, and so on. We believe no one was left inside.”
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Authorities said the flames broke out on the hotel’s ground floor, possibly due to a short circuit.
Firefighters have since extinguished the blaze, though an investigation into its cause remains ongoing.
According to Cadena SER, the 210-room hotel is set to be operated under Marriott’s The Luxury Collection brand.
The project is part of a €250-million redevelopment of an old tobacco factory that closed in 2006.
Aside from the hotel, the revamped Vera building is set to house offices, shops, public spaces and a new pedestrian bridge across the Guadalquivir River.
Construction was previously scheduled for completion in autumn 2026, though it remains unclear whether the fire has caused any delays.
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