On August 6, 2024, a partial collapse of the Reichsschenke Zum Ritter Götz hotel in Kroev, Germany resulted in the deaths of two Germans, a man and a woman, and left several others trapped under the rubble. The incident occurred around 11 p.m. in the winemaking town along the Moselle River, approximately 68 miles west of Frankfurt.
Police reported that five individuals managed to escape unharmed as they were not in the part of the building that collapsed. Rescuers were able to contact some of the trapped individuals by cellphone, but getting to them proved difficult because the collapse of one story left two ceilings lying on top of each other, explained Joerg Teusch, Fire and Disaster Protection Inspector for the Bernkastel-Wittlich district.
Teusch explained that the entire building structure was extremely unstable, likening it to a house of cards that could collapse if not handled carefully. As rescuers worked through the wreckage on Wednesday morning, over 250 rescue workers, including drone specialists and rescue dogs, were involved in the operation.
Michael Ebling, the top security official in Rhineland-Palatinate state, where Kroev is located, noted the significant number of people rescued despite the severe damage. Given the visible extent of the destruction, he emphasized the remarkable nature of the rescues.
Among those trapped were a young Dutch family: a couple and their two-year-old child. The mother and child were rescued first, followed by the father, who had initially remained trapped beneath the debris. The child was pulled out unharmed, and the child’s mother was rescued with minor injuries.
Teusch expressed the emotional impact of the rescue efforts, recalling how the initial appearance of the building made it seem unlikely that anyone would be found alive. According to police, the last of the seven trapped individuals, a woman, was rescued on Wednesday night. Fourteen people were in the hotel when it collapsed.
The cause of the collapse remains unknown. The hotel building, originally dating back to the 17th century, had additional stories added in the 1980s. Teusch noted that construction work was being carried out on the building on Tuesday, though it is unclear if this contributed to the collapse.
A regional media source indicated that witnesses heard a loud bang and observed a large cloud of dust at the moment of the collapse. Teusch explained that stairs, house entrances, doors, and windows were no longer accessible. Authorities evacuated 21 people from three buildings surrounding the damaged hotel. The hotel guests at the time of the collapse were primarily German, except for a Dutch family.
Rescuers were able to recover one of the bodies, but police said they were planning to remove a section of the building to recover the other.
Kroev is located in the Moselle region, a popular tourist destination known for its picturesque towns and vineyards along steep river banks. This incident occurs during the busy summer tourism season.