Six missing after fire at Brussels OXY Tower kills workers

At least six people were missing after fire tore through the OXY Tower in central Brussels on Tuesday, with firefighters finding several bodies inside a lift as the blaze raced up the building’s shaft. At least three workers were evacuated, including one person with burns, while the exact death toll remained unclear.

The fire started on the second floor of the tower on Place de Brouckère, also known as De Brouckèreplein, and spread quickly into the lift shaft. Walter Derieuw, the brigade spokesman, said crews had only limited access to one of the two lift cabins, where they saw “corpses of two or three people.” The second cabin had not yet been reached as firefighters pushed deeper into the structure.

About 200 to 250 construction workers were on site during the major renovation, officials from the Brussels Labour Inspectorate and the Public Prosecutor’s Office said. The building houses apartments, restaurants and a rooftop bar.

Flames travelled through the lift shafts and sparked a new fire in an underground floor. The cause of the fire remained under investigation. The tower had already seen a roof fire in April 2024, though that earlier blaze caused no injuries.