An old hotel that collapsed on Wednesday afternoon near the Black Sea city of Varna has left one person dead.

Three are thought to be missing, though rescue teams are now suggesting there are no signs of life coming from beneath the rubble.

The 11-story Veronika Hotel collapsed unexpectedly while being demolished, labor inspectorate official Ivan Ivanov is quoted by Darik Radio as saying. Plans envisaged the construction of a new hotel at the same spot. The victim was a demolition worker.

In Ivanov's words, workers of a subcontractor for Planex, the company that was to erect the new building, might have tried to cut off armature by hand after failing to do so for hours due to a lack of proper equipment.

Bultransport Group, the subcontractor, has not yet commented.