Five of the six people who died after a fire broke out in the OXY Tower construction site in central Brussels on Tuesday were Belgian nationals, according to Het Laatste Nieuws. The sixth victim is said to have been a Romanian citizen.
The fire broke out at about 07:30 on Tuesday morning in the lift shafts of the building on Place De Brouckère, where the former administrative headquarters of the City of Brussels is being converted into a mixed-use complex in the heart of the capital.
Around 250 people were on site at the time. The public prosecutor’s office confirmed late on Tuesday that six people had been found dead in an elevator following the fire.
When the fire broke out, the six victims were reportedly working in the elevator cabin, which plummeted downwards as a result of the fire. No victims were found in the second elevator shaft.
HLN reports that four of the victims worked at the Alken-based metal company On Time Metalworks BV. No details have yet been released on their identities.
The precise cause of the fire is not yet clear, but according to the Brussels Labour Inspectorate, the elevator cable may have broken following the fire, causing the device to plummet.
The Labour Inspectorate is unable to say at this stage whether foul play might have been involved. “All elements are part of the ongoing investigation," a spokesperson told Belga News Agency.
