Overview
- A historic Gründerzeithaus in Görlitz collapsed on Monday evening, triggering an urgent multi‑agency rescue that lasted three days.
- Rescue teams recovered three bodies and the missing‑person search was declared over, with two victims identified as Romanian tourists aged 25 and 26 and a third likely the 48‑year‑old man pending forensic confirmation.
- Authorities found a gas leak hours after the collapse and the mayor said it looks like a gas explosion, but police say they are investigating all possible causes and have not confirmed the origin.
- About 140–150 personnel from THW, fire brigades, police, federal police and rescue services used cranes, diggers, search dogs and cameras while working under unstable conditions that required layer‑by‑layer rubble clearance and intermittent halts for safety.
- The area was evacuated and gas lines were shut off; Görlitzer Stadtwerke plan to tap a parallel pipeline to restore gas to some buildings and traffic detours toward Poland remain in place while investigators and city officials prepare further updates.