A fire destroyed a residential and commercial building in the Swiss Alpine town of Thusis early Friday morning, leaving five people missing and eight others injured. Emergency services were alerted to the blaze in the canton of Graubünden at approximately 00:00 local time. The Graubünden Cantonal police reported that while 14 people managed to escape the structure, the building itself was completely destroyed.
Nearly 100 firefighters from local networks responded to the incident. Rescuers faced significant obstacles after the building's stairwell collapsed, forcing crews to use a crane to open the roof and address the flames from above. Of the eight people injured, two sustained serious injuries, two suffered moderate injuries, and four had minor injuries. The victims were transported to hospitals in Chur, Thusis, Ilanz, and Zurich for treatment.
Authorities have launched an investigation into the cause of the fire, with initial findings suggesting the blaze began on the second floor. Specialist teams are currently searching the unstable ruins for the five missing individuals. Police and prosecutors have not yet confirmed if the missing persons were inside the building at the time the fire started.
On a broader scale, the emergency response involved nearly 100 firefighters, drawing significant resources from multiple local fire networks across the Graubünden region. The loss of a multi-use residential and commercial property in a tourist-heavy Alpine area may also impact local economic activity. The deployment of specialized equipment, such as cranes for roof breaching and search teams for collapsed structures, highlights the complexity and cost of the ongoing emergency operation.
What happens next will depend on the findings of the joint investigation by police and prosecutors. A primary focus remains the search for the five missing persons within the debris of the collapsed stairwell and destroyed apartments. While the cause of the fire remains unknown, investigators will continue to examine the second floor where the blaze is believed to have originated. No specific timeline has been provided for the completion of the search or the release of the final investigative report.