A fire at a construction site in Brussels on Tuesday (July 14) killed several people, with authorities searching for six missing workers. The blaze broke out at a large renovation project on the central Place de Brouckere, forcing the evacuation of more than 250 workers.

Mayor Philippe Close said the fire started around 7:00 or 7:30 in the morning and initially did not appear serious from the outside. However, the situation quickly escalated, requiring mass evacuations as emergency services rushed to the scene.

"Despite the fact that we were able to get a large number of workers out, six people are still missing, and we believe that there are indeed victims among those six people," Close told Reuters. The Brussels labour prosecutor confirmed that bodies had been found in one of two elevators at the site.

The local fire brigade said more than 200 workers had been on site when the fire broke out and three people were taken to hospital. An initial fire at the lower floors was contained relatively quickly, but flames that went through the elevator shafts caused a new fire in an underground floor.

Close said Civil Protection would work to clear the site while firefighters and investigative services would try to establish what happened, with the first priority being to secure the area and identify victims.

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Brussels mayor mourns workers killed in construction fire

VIDEO SHOWS: BRUSSELS MAYOR PHILIPPE CLOSE GIVING INTERVIEW OUTSIDE CONSTRUCTION SITE WHERE SEVERAL WORKERS DIED IN FIRE

RESENDING WITH COMPLETE SCRIPT

SHOWS: BRUSSELS, BELGIUM (JULY 14, 2026) (REUTERS - Access all)

1. VARIOUS OF PEOPLE FROM FORENSIC TEAM TALKING

2. FORENSIC TEAM WALKING AWAY

3. PEOPLE FROM FORENSIC TEAM TALKING

4. VARIOUS OF POLICE

5. MAYOR OF BRUSSELS, PHILIPPE CLOSE, TALKING TO PRESS

6. (SOUNDBITE) (French) MAYOR OF BRUSSELS, PHILIPPE CLOSE, SAYING:

"I think it started around 7:00 or 7:30. At first, from the outside, it didn’t seem like a major fire, but very quickly we had to evacuate more than 250 workers who were on site. The firefighters arrived very quickly, along with the police and emergency services. But unfortunately, despite the fact that we were able to get a large number of workers out, six people are still missing, and we believe that there are indeed victims among those six people."

7. CLOSE TALKING

8. (SOUNDBITE) (French) MAYOR OF BRUSSELS, PHILIPPE CLOSE, SAYING:

""Civil Protection will try to clear the site, and the firefighters, together with the investigative services, will try to establish what happened. The first priority is to secure the area so that the victims can be identified and their families notified, because obviously this has been a terrible shock. Support will also be provided to their colleagues. After that, the aim will be to determine exactly what happened and what may have caused or triggered the fire."

9. JOURNALIST FILMING, POLICE

10. POLICE TALKING

11. VARIOUS OF FIREFIGHTERS, POLICE