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Fire at luxury Botanic Sanctuary hotel in Antwerp leads to guest evacuation
Around one hundred guests were evacuated from the luxury Botanic Sanctuary hotel in Antwerp following a fire in the wellness area. There were no injuries, but the damage is significant.
In the night from Tuesday to Wednesday, a fire broke out in the wellness area of the Botanic Sanctuary hotel on Leopoldstraat in Antwerp. According to the Antwerp fire department, a medical intervention plan was activated and all attendees were evacuated.
Approximately one hundred hotel guests, including Russian chess legend Garry Kasparov, had to leave their rooms due to the fire. The firefighters quickly brought the blaze under control, allowing for a relatively swift evacuation.
There were no injuries reported in the incident. The guests were temporarily sheltered in the cafeteria of the nearby ZAS Elisabeth hospital. The fire caused significant damage to the wellness area and the swimming pool.
By morning, many guests were able to return to their hotel rooms after the fire was brought under control and the firefighters were still busy with damping down. The well-being of the guests was a key priority for the firefighters.
Witnesses of the fire described how they saw the windows shatter and the flames spread in the wellness area. The situation was alarming, but the quick response from the firefighters prevented worse.
The damage to the hotel facilities is considerable, but the hotel itself has yet to release a statement regarding the cause of the fire.