At least four were killed last night after a fire engulfed two residential buildings in the eastern Spanish city of Valencia.
Firefighters rushed to the scene in the city centre where flames could be seen bursting from windows of the 14-storey residential building where the blaze apparently started. Residents were trapped on balconies waiting to be rescued. The fire began in the early evening yesterday and spread to an adjacent building, state news agency Efe reported.
This morning, crews are expected to go into the gutted building to look for the 19 people who are unaccounted for. Officials fear the death toll could go up.
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez posted on X saying he was "shocked by the terrible fire in a building in Valencia" adding that he had offered the city "all the help that is necessary".
"I want to convey my solidarity to all the people affected and recognition to all the emergency personnel already deployed at the scene," Mr Sanchez said.
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The president of the European parliament has paid tribute after several residents passed away following the fire.
Roberta Metsola also commended the emergency services and said "Europe is with Spain". She wrote on Twitter: "My thoughts and solidarity are with all those who lost their lives and their homes in the terrible fire in Valencia, and also with their families. My appreciation to the firefighters for their bravery and continued efforts."
A young couple with two children, including a newborn, are among the people missing following the devastating fire, local media reports.
It is understood the whole family were in the flat as the building went up in flames. It reported they tried to hide in the bathroom. The unnamed family are not accounted for.
Police and firefighters still unable to get into the building.
This video on X, formerly Twitter, shows the specific flat where the fire started. The video was taken about 5.37pm localtime.
Por si ayuda a entender como un edificio puede consumirse en llamas en pocos minutos. Me pilló justo en la zona. #incendio #valencia
— Carlos Estella (@estella_carlos) February 22, 2024
17:37 horas pic.twitter.com/eFuVhnh9jj
The bodies of the four people who died, spotted on terraces by firefighters who sent up a drone late last night, remain in situ and those victims have not been identified.
Officials have confirmed all 14 people injured, who included a seven-year-old child and six firefighters, will pull through and none of their conditions are life-threatening.
Only six are believed to remain in hospital.
Spain’s PM Pedro Sanchez is travelling to the scene and is expected to arrive around midday.
The fire began on the fourth floor of the apartment block and rapidly spread to an adjoining building in the affluent neighbourhood.
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The 14-storey building, which consists of 138 flats and 450 residents, was plunged into a terrifying state as residents remained trapped inside. Experts shared their insight and said that highly flammable cladding caused the fire to spread quicker.
Esther Punchades, who works for the insurance inspection agency APCAS, told TVE that a lack of firewalls contributed to this. She further explained how the use of the plastic material polyurethane on the facade also sped up the process.
This is the moment a father and daughter appeared to be saved from the blaze.
Spanish broadcasters filmed the tense rescue which saw fire crews use a crane to retrieve the pair. The two were believed to have been trapped on their balcony terrace for over an hour.
Los bomberos rescatan a un padre y a su hija en una terraza del edificio en llamas.#Valencia #Campanar #YAS22Feb pic.twitter.com/DmfJggPVAB
— CookieTriki (@cookietriki) February 22, 2024
Pictures show devastating scenes of the aftermath with smoke still apparent in the air.
The burnt building can be seen completely ruined as emergency services remain on site.
(AFP via Getty Images)Images show fire crews at the scene this morning.
Fire crews at the scene this morning (AFP via Getty Images)Valencias mayoress has stressed that the situation is "complicated" as there were foreigners trapped in the apartment block.
Maria Jose Catala said there were people inside that were staying in Valencia for a few days.
She continued: “We have this information from relatives who are contacting us and saying they can’t locate their loved ones. We know there are foreigners and the information we have is likely to change during the day.
“At the moment we know there are 14 people who are unaccounted for but we know that process is variable and there are people who are foreigners who were spending a few days in Valencia and that can make things more complicated."
Asked if the foreigners staying there could have been renting holiday let-style apartments for just a few days, the mayoress replied: “It’s possible. Yesterday the information police were working on is that there were 19 people unaccounted for and this morning that figure is 14. Firefighters still don’t know when they will be able to enter the building.”
Local authorities have posted a breakdown of the latest information on what is happening.
They said on Twitter:
Between 9 and 15 people are still missing
15 people treated for injuries, 7 of them firefighters
Locals have shared their shock over how quickly the blaze erupted as authorities continue to search for missing people.
Resident Luis Ibanez, who lives closeby, said the fire tookover the block "within a matter of minutes" and said it was "as if it was made of cork". He told TVE: "I couldn't believe what I was seeing. The whole side of the building directly opposite was on fire."
A woman named Maite, who lives opposite the block, told local media: "I saw people being burnt and 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."
This image shows firefighters still at the scene overlooking the charred-out building.
Firefighters inspect the aftermath of a huge fire that yesterday (AFP via Getty Images)Pictures from this morning show a burnt out building as fire crews work to find the those who are unaccounted for
Firefighters work at a burned block building in Valencia, Spain (AP)Firefighters are set to enter the Spanish apartment block gutted by fire in the next few hours and begin the grim task of going door-to-door in the search for bodies.
They have been unable to enter the twin multi-storey towers that form part of the building since the devastating blaze broke out just before 5.30pm yesterday and tore through inflammable cladding blamed along with high winds for its rapid spread.
The official death toll stands at four based on the number of bodies spotted on balconies by a drone put up by emergency responders late yesterday.
But 19 people who lived in the building, home to 138 flats and more than 400 residents, remain unaccounted for and have been declared missing.
Firefighters have admitted they do not expect to find anyone trapped by the flames inside the building alive, raising fears the final death toll could be over 20.
Valencia City Hall has declared three days of mourning.
A woman called Maite, who lives opposite the apartment block, told local press: “I saw people being burnt and 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.”
Speaking late last night after a drone put up by firefighters sighted four bodies and it was ascertained the blaze had caused fatalities, Jorge Suarez, sub-director of emergencies for the regional Valencian government, said: “We have to confirm the worst of the hypotheses that were on the table.
“Four people have died. We can now confirm that but we can’t give out any more information at the moment.
“Firefighters are still working exclusively outside the building on tasks related to extinguishing the blaze.
“The characteristics of the building make it impossible to carry out any such work inside the structure so the work being done at the moment is focused on cooling down the outside and that’s going to be the focus over the next few hours.
“I can’t say at the moment when they’re going to be able to go inside the building.”
At least 14 people, including six firefighters and a young child, have been injured and four people have sadly died in the blaze.
More than 20 fire crews tackled the blaze, and by early Friday the block was a giant fire-blackened shell. People were urged to stay away from the area.
One man who lives on the second floor of the building told TV channel La Sexta that the flames grew rapidly after the fire started, reportedly on the fourth floor.
"The fire spread in a matter of 10 minutes," he said, adding that material on the facade of the building may have caused the fire to spread.
A number of sources have claimed that the building may have been constructed with flammable materials.
Engineer Esther Puchades, who surveyed the building said it was "covered in polyurethane, a highly flammable material," RTVE reports.
Another engineer David Higuera told El País the building's cladding may have caused the fire to spread.
A resident living in the opposite building recalled seeing fire come "out of the balconies" before "parts of the facade fell down".
She added that wind had blown parts of the cladding off in recent years. There had also been repairs recently.
Spanish rescue services taking care of someone affected by the fire (MANUEL BRUQUE/EPA-EFE/REX/Shutterstock)A man living on the sceond floor said the flames grew rapidly and had engulfed the building in "a matter of 10 minutes".
He believes that the material on the building's facade was the reason it took hold so quickly.
The ongoing fire started in a 14-storey residential flat block in the Campanar neighbourhood of Valencia before spreading to another building.
The building's manager reportedly told El Pais that there are 138 flats containing 450 residents.
(AFP via Getty Images)At least two people have been rescued and up to ten people hurt, including three fire crew.
Neighbours looked on in shock as one declared: "I cannot understand that in the year 2024 a new building will burn like this.”
The two people rescued were trapped on their balcony for at least half an hour and water was thrown on to them to try and protect them from the flames.
The fire generated a large column of flames and dense smoke that affected. most of the floors of the building.
Nearly 140 people lived in the tower block which was build in the early 2000s.
Videos emerging online show residents being forced to jump off buildings on to inflatables to escape the blaze.
Valencia
— Gorka 5.81 (@gorka581) February 22, 2024
Bombero saltando a colchón de rescate tras atrapamiento por llamas. Sin palabras...
Mucho ánimo al personal interviniente
Video de RRSS pic.twitter.com/GO0MxozQBt
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez posted a tweet on the X platform saying he was "shocked by the terrible fire in a building in Valencia" adding that he had offered the city "all the help that is necessary."
"I want to convey my solidarity to all the people affected and recognition to all the emergency personnel already deployed at the scene," Sanchez said.
The fire began in the early evening and spread to an adjacent building, state news agency Efe reported. Initial emergency service reports said there were at least 13 people injured with fractures, burns and smoke inhalation. The 13 included six firefighters.
Huge fire rages through a multistorey residential block in Valencia (AFP via Getty Images)Soldiers from Spain's Military Emergency Unit were also deployed and medics set up a large tent to tend to the injured on the scene.
The fire sent clouds of black smoke billowing skyward that could be seen from afar.
