At Least Four Dead In Jetty Collapse In Spain

MADRID, March 4 (Bernama-dpa) -- At least four people have died in northern Spain following the collapse of a jetty, reported German news agency dpa. 

The accident occurred at the rocky beach of El Bocal, north of Santander, capital of the province of Cantabria, the Cantabrian Sea rescue service reported on Tuesday. Two people were still being searched for in the early evening, it said.

Among the fatalities were three women, according to the news agency Europa Press, the TV channel RTVE, and other media, which cited rescue forces. 

Further information about the identities of the victims was not initially disclosed. The cause of the accident, which happened around 4:30 pm (1530 GMT), remained unclear at first.

According to the authorities, a total of seven middle-aged people were affected by the incident. They all fell into the sea when the jetty collapsed. Two of them were rescued alive from the water, but a woman later succumbed to her injuries in the intensive care unit of a hospital in Santander.

The incident occurred at a jetty between the beach of El Bocal and the Spanish Institute of Oceanography, according to official information.

--BERNAMA-dpa