VALENCIA: At least four people were killed in a fire that engulfed an apartment building in Valencia in eastern Spain and up to 14 were missing, local authorities said on Friday.
Television footage showed the building's facade ablaze on Thursday night, with burning segments falling to the pavement and small explosions audible inside. Witnesses said the fire, fanned by strong winds, spread to the entire building in about half an hour.
Residents could be seen calling for help from balconies. A fireman had to jump from the first floor to a crash mat below. Other footage showed two people stepping from a balcony onto a crane before being lowered to street level.
"I told my daughter and mother-in-law to leave, other people stayed inside," Adriana, a resident of the building, told Reuters.
Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez was on his way to the scene after expressing support for those affected and praising firefighters.
The fire began on Thursday evening on the fourth floor of the building in an affluent neighbourhood of Spain's third-largest city and spread to other apartments, emergency services said on X.
Valencia's mayor, Maria Jose Catala, told reporters that firefighters had not yet entered the building but were able to confirm four people had died. Fifteen people were injured, six of them firefighters, but their lives were not at risk.
Firefighters were inspecting the building with cranes and drones to assess the risk of its collapse before entering, Catala said in an interview on state broadcaster TVE.
The building, comprised of two towers linked by what its developers described as a "panoramic lift" had several dozen flats. It had 138 apartments, newspaper El Pais reported.
Pilar Bernabe, the government's representative in Valencia, said it was hard to say how many people were missing because it was "a building with many flats, flats in which there were people of foreign nationality, whose location is more difficult to pinpoint".
FIRE SPREAD RAPIDLY
Esther Punchades of insurance inspection agency APCAS told TVE a lack of firewalls and the use of the plastic material polyurethane on the facade would have contributed to the rapid spread of the blaze.
A 2007 promotional video by the building's developer highlighted the "innovative material" used to clad the building's exterior, which passed "rigorous quality checks".
The spread of a fatal fire in the Grenfell Tower block in London in 2017 that killed an estimated 80 people after an electrical fault was blamed on the use of highly flammable external cladding.
Strong winds also played their part. A policeman told Reuters that the wind was so strong at times that it was pushing back the water being hosed by firefighters.
The city has decreed three days of mourning and suspended the start of a month-long annual festival.
Reuters
Fri Feb 23 2024
Firefighters work at the scene of a fire on an apartment building in Valencia, Spain, February 23, 2024. - REUTERS/Eva Manez
Claudia Sheinbaum isytihar kemenangan dalam Pilihan Raya Presiden Mexico
Saintis iklim Mexico dan bekas Datuk Bandar Mexico City, Claudia Sheinbaum meraikan kemenangannya dalam Pilihan Raya Presiden pada Ahad sebagai calon gabungan "Let's Keep Making History".
Malaysia seru sokong cadangan Biden untuk akhiri konflik Gaza
Malaysia menyeru pihak-pihak berkaitan untuk menerima dan berusaha ke arah pelaksanaan penuh cadangan terkini oleh Presiden Amerika Syarikat (AS), Joe Biden, untuk menamatkan kekejaman Israel di Gaza.
Remaja 14 tahun maut akibat langgar lari di Nilai
Seorang remaja lelaki maut selepas terlibat dalam kemalangan dengan sebuah kenderaan di Batu 9 Jalan Labu, Nilai pada 6.45 pagi tadi.
Tumpuan Selasa – 04 Jun 2024
Ikuti rangkuman berita utama yang menjadi tumpuan di Astro AWANI.
Kabinet Mesir letak jawatan, PM Mesir dilantik semula untuk bentuk kerajaan baharu
Perdana Menteri Mesir, Mostafa Madbouly telah menyerahkan surat peletakan jawatan Kabinetnya pada Isnin.
Penuntut IPTA ditemui lemas di kolam ikan
Seorang pelajar Institut Pengajian Tinggi Awam (IPTA) di daerah ini ditemukan lemas selepas mandi di kolam ternakan ikan di tapak perkhemahan Aminah Rahmat Agrofarm di sini, hari ini.
AWANI Tonight: 3 June 2024
#AWANITonight with @Hafiz_Marzukhi
1. Malaysia committed to creating disaster-resilient cities - Minister
2. Parallel Pathway: Reforms needed to boost numbers of medical specialists
#AWANIEnglish #AWANINews
1. Malaysia committed to creating disaster-resilient cities - Minister
2. Parallel Pathway: Reforms needed to boost numbers of medical specialists
#AWANIEnglish #AWANINews
AWANI Ringkas: Gugur Keahlian Bersatu | Jurusan Kejururawatan
Ikuti rangkuman berita utama yang menjadi tumpuan sepanjang hari di Astro AWANI menerusi AWANI Ringkas.
AWANI Tonight: Claudia Sheinbaum becomes Mexico’s first woman president
Claudia Sheinbaum is set to become Mexico’s first woman president, following a landslide victory based on preliminary results.
AWANI Tonight: Pushing for reforms to boost specialist numbers
The parallel pathway programme and possible legal amendments will be brought to the Cabinet this week. Ipoh Timur MP Howard Lee weighs in on the need to facilitate the programme alongside university Master’s programmes to address a shortage of doctors.