One dead, nine missing in Tenerife building collapse

Arona: At least one person died and nine others were missing Thursday after a five-storey building collapsed on Tenerife, local officials said.

Rescuers with dogs were still at the scene late Thursday searching the debris for survivors.
Three people, including a 28-year-old Italian man who suffered a broken arm, were rescued from the rubble, with two requiring hospital treatment.

"The building had 28 occupants of which nine still have not been found," Arona mayor Julian Mena told a news conference.
The building, located in the beach area of Los Cristianos in the south of Tenerife, collapsed at around 9:30 am (0830 GMT). The cause was not immediately clear.

A spokeswoman for local firefighters said families had tried and failed to contact missing relatives.

"These are people who are not answering the telephone, we can`t say that they are in the building, but the truth is that right now their families have not been able to contact them," she said.

Tenerife, the largest of Spain`s Canary Islands off the northwest coast of Africa, are a popular destination for British holidaymakers and retirees.