Three missing in Gorlitz house collapse

Three people were missing on Tuesday after a residential building collapsed in the eastern German city of Görlitz on Monday evening.

The exact cause of the collapse of the 19th-century house in the city center is still unclear, although local police suspect a gas explosion.

So emergency services are moving cautiously with the help of gas readers, and further debris fall is also being prevented.

Initially, five people were listed as missing – but two were holidaymakers who had not yet reached Görlitz, and appeared shortly after midnight.

“They are OK, they were not in the building at the time of the collapse,” said police spokeswoman Anja Leuschner, adding that the building housed rental residences and vacation homes. “They were lucky they weren’t there.”

Görlitz, located in the eastern state of Saxony, is Germany’s easternmost city, and lies directly on the border with Poland.

Good morning! Welcome to DW’s coverage of what Germany is talking about on Tuesday, May 19, 2026.

Emergency services are still searching for three missing people after a house collapsed on Monday evening in the center of Germany’s easternmost city of Görlitz. Local police suspect a gas explosion.

Meanwhile, a new study shows that almost one in five German petrol stations have flouted new rules limiting the number of times they can raise fuel prices.

Later on Tuesday, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz will welcome Swiss President Guy Parmelin in Berlin, and we are also expecting the results of the investigation into the car attack at the Magdeburg Christmas Market in December 2024.