Four Dead, 14 Missing After Fire Guts Spanish Apartment Block

Valencia, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 23rd Feb, 2024) At least four people died in a huge fire that ripped through a 14-storey apartment block in Valencia, eastern Spain, and at least 14 were reported missing, with officials warning on Friday that the death toll could rise.

Experts said the building was covered with highly flammable cladding, which could account for the rapid spread of the blaze after it broke out on the fourth floor at around 5:30 pm (1630 GMT) on Thursday.

Dramatic images showed clouds of black smoke as the flames consumed the high-rise building of 138 flats in the western Campanar district of the port city.

"Four people have died," Jorge Suarez Torres, deputy director of emergency services for the Valencia region, told reporters overnight.

"As of now, we have 14 people who remain untraced," regional administrator Pilar Bernabe added on Friday, stressing that the number could change.

Valencia mayor Maria Jose Catala had said between nine and 15 people were unaccounted for, based on information provided by police and neighbours, while a city hall source had said on Thursday that 19 people were unlocated.

Fifteen people were treated for injuries of varying degrees, including a seven-year-old child and seven firemen.

Six of the 15 were still in hospital on Friday but their lives were not in danger, regional governor Carlos Mazon said.

Officials said 22 teams of firefighters had been called in to battle the blaze.

Suarez Torres said they had not yet managed to get into the building.

"We're trying to cool the facade. That's our goal over the next few hours," he said.

"We can't say when we'll be able to get inside."