Four dead and eight injured in building fire in Thusis, eastern Switzerland
Swiss police confirmed Sunday that four people died after a fire broke out on Thursday night in a multi-story building housing a Portuguese restaurant and apartments in Thusis.
A fire that started on Thursday night in a multi-story building in Thusis, eastern Switzerland, resulted in four confirmed deaths and eight injuries, cantonal police announced on Sunday. The building housed the Beverin Portuguese restaurant alongside residential apartments. Fourteen people managed to escape the burning structure despite the collapse of an internal staircase during the blaze. Two of the eight injured individuals sustained serious injuries.
Police in the canton of Graubünden initially reported five people missing on Friday after the building was completely destroyed. Rescue workers located one of the missing individuals alive over the weekend before recovering the bodies of two victims on Saturday and the remaining two on Sunday from the partially collapsed structure. A Portuguese woman was among the initial five missing, though authorities have not yet released the official nationalities or completed formal identification of the deceased.
Preliminary findings indicate the fire began on the second floor of the building before flames spread through upper windows and reached the roof. Due to the staircase collapse, emergency crews deployed a crane to open the roof during operations. Cantonal authorities stated that the cause of the fire remains under investigation.
