Six Die In Fire At Spain Retirement Home

Six elderly people died and two others were seriously injured when a fire ripped through a retirement home near Valencia in eastern Spain, the emergency services said on Wednesday

Madrid, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 19th Jan, 2022 ) :Six elderly people died and two others were seriously injured when a fire ripped through a retirement home near Valencia in eastern Spain, the emergency services said on Wednesday.

Ten ambulances rushed to the scene after the fire broke out at around 11:20 pm (2220 GMT) Tuesday, with rescuers evacuating 71 people. Nine fire engines battled the blaze in Moncada, just north of the eastern resort city of Valencia.

Medics initially gave a toll of five dead and three seriously hurt, but one of the injured later died.

"I can confirm that a sixth person has died, another elderly person," an emergency services spokeswoman told AFP as the local authority declared three days of mourning.

Three men aged 67, 79 and 85 were among the dead, along with three women aged 78, 89 and 95.

As well as the two people seriously injured, 14 others suffered from smoke inhalation, including some of the rescuers.

The fire was raging when the fire engines arrived, firefighters said, consuming one wing of the residence, where many elderly residents were sleeping.

"When the first crew arrived, they found the entire first floor full of smoke with the fire fully developed," local fireman Rafael Esteve told COPE radio.

The evacuation was "complicated" because many people were already in bed, he added.

"Many were still sleeping, some had been woken up by the smoke. But in general, most were in bed and unable to move."It was the smoke "that caused the most harm", he added.