Monday, February 14, 2005

MADRID OFFICE TOWER FIRE update: the fire itself has been extinguished, and the building -or rather, what remains of it- is still in a very unstable condition. The danger of collapse still exists, but apparently it will resist although, obviously, it will have to be demolished. Meanwhile, the whole area is pretty much closed down until Wednesday; tenths of thousands of workers couldn't get into their workplaces this morning (remember, the burnt tower is in the middle of the business district, surrounded by several highrises). With the traffic restrictions, and the three subway lines beneath diverted, the city is in commuting chaos.

You can see four pages of amazing photos here; you can also see video taken during the worst part of the blaze here; it's from Catalan public-owned TV (look for the word video; the report itself is in Catalan, but images speak for themselves).