Towering inferno

Madrid

Downtown Madrid was completely shut down this week when a fire gutted a 32-story office building in the heart of the city. The blaze was apparently started by a faulty circuit, late at night, when the building was empty. It burned for more than 24 hours before it was extinguished, leaving only a charred shell. “This is the biggest fire this city has ever had,” said Mayor Alberto Ruiz Gallardon. Officials are now racing to plan a controlled demolition, before the remaining supports collapse.