Fears Madrid skyscraper close to collapse

MADRID - A raging fire swept through a 32-storey skyscraper in the heart of Madrid's commercial district, causing no injuries but sparking fears the office building might collapse.

Bright orange flames ate through the top half of the Windsor building as its metal shell fell away in tangled pieces from the upper floors, exposing a smouldering concrete skeleton.

Giant balls of flame rose into the night as parts of its side collapsed. The smell of smoke spread through the north of the Spanish capital as hundreds of anxious neighbours packed streets around the burning building.

Several onlookers and firemen had to be treated for smoke inhalation.

"The fire is very big and we cannot save the building itself. Our focus is to prevent it from spreading," said Madrid Mayor Alberto Ruiz Gallardon, adding that a short-circuit was the likely cause of the blaze.

The well-known landmark houses the offices of accounting firm Deloitte & Touche and was believed to have been empty when the fire started at 11.30am yesterday NZT.

- REUTERS