Valencia fire: At least 10 dead after fire engulfs Spanish flats

‘The fire spread in a matter of 10 minutes,’ says one local resident

At least 10 people have been killed in a blaze that ripped through an apartment block in Valencia, authorities have said. Spanish firefighters rushed to the scene in the city centre on Thursday night, with the blaze engulfing the block quickly, fanned by strong winds. Dramatic footage showed desperate residents rushing to their balconies in an attempt to flee.

The firefighters, wearing masks and oxygen tanks, worked their way through the charred building on Friday looking for bodies or survivors. Valencia mayor Maria Jose Catala said later in the day that there were no more missing people, having earlier said that around a dozen had not been found.

“In a first visual inspection, 10 bodies were found in the building,” Pilar Bernabe, the central government's representative for the Valencia region, told reporters.

Four of the victims were members of the same family, including a father and mother, a three-year-old girl and a newborn baby, El Pais reported.

Meanwhile, questions were asked as to how the fire spread so rapidly. Experts suggested that a type of cladding might have helped the blaze spread faster, but Ms Catala said the cause of the fire was still not known and it was too early to comment on whether some materials used in construction of the modern complex might have contributed.

Some observers compared the fire with the harrowing scenes of the 2017 Grenfell Tower disaster in London.

The complex of around 140 apartments in Valencia was finished in 2009. In a promotional video, the now bankrupt construction company Fbex boasted that it used a new aluminium-based material as part of its facade.

A huge fire rages through a multistorey residential block in Valencia (AFP via Getty Images)

Fifteen people were treated for injuries and two remained in city hospitals. Both were said to be stable. It was not immediately known how many people were in the two buildings when the fire broke out, but dozens are believed to have lost their homes and belongings.

The port city came to a standstill as the 14-storey building went up in flames. The Valencia regional government declared three days of mourning.

“I told my daughter and mother-in-law to leave, other people stayed inside,” Adriana, a resident of the building, told Reuters.

Building manager and resident Adriana reacts at the scene of the fire in Valencia (Reuters)

A resident of the second floor of the building told broadcaster La Sexta that flames overpowered the building rapidly after it started on the fourth floor. “The fire spread in a matter of 10 minutes,” the man said.

Cries for help could be heard from neighbouring buildings. A woman called Maite, who lives opposite the apartment block, told local media: “I saw people... shouting for help from balconies, a couple and a child. I’m feeling devastated.

“I left my home and went down into the street in case the flames jumped to our building. I just grabbed hold of my handbag, nothing else.”

A huge fire rages through a multistorey residential block in Valencia (AFP via Getty Images)

Valencians flocked to donate clothes, medicines and toys for surviving residents who lost all their belongings in the fire and are now being temporarily housed in a nearby hotel. Officials said 105 people had been rehoused and a regional official said they would receive money for daily costs and rent.

Visiting the scene on Friday, Spain’s prime minister, Pedro Sánchez, said residents had “lost everything in this terrible fire”. He expressed his gratitude to firefighters and military personnel who worked to extinguish the blaze. Pope Francis also sent a telegram of condolences.

The injured included nine men aged between 25 and 57, four women aged between 27 and 81, and a seven-year-old boy.

A local magistrate has opened an investigation into the blaze.

Reuters and Associated Press contributed to this report