Valencia: Ten dead and 14 missing as blaze engulfs apartment block in Spain

The fire sent fleeing residents onto balconies where some were rescued by firefighters
Jordan King23 February 2024

A massive fire at an apartment building in Valencia has killed at least 10 people with 14 still missing.

Spanish authorities updated the death toll from four to 10 on Friday afternoon.

In scenes grimly reminiscent of the Grenfell Tower fire in 2017, television footage showed the entire facade of the 14-storey building ablaze with burning segments falling to the pavement below.

Experts say that highly flammable cladding on the building enabled the fire to spread rapidly.

Local media reported several residents calling for help from the balconies of their apartments. One fireman had to jump from the first floor to a mattress below.

Luis Ibanez, who lives nearby, told local media he had looked out of a window and saw the flames engulfing the block “within a matter of minutes”, adding it was “as if it was made of cork”.

“I couldn’t believe what I was seeing. The whole side of the building directly opposite was on fire.”

The Grenfell Tower Memorial Commission posted a message of support on Friday to families of the victims.

“We send our heartfelt condolences to those who lost loved ones in the tragic events in Valencia yesterday,” the group wrote on X.

“We understand how painful this will be for the families affected. We stand ready to offer support and solidarity to those families in the days ahead.”

Soldiers from Spain’s Military Emergency Unit also were deployed and medics set up a large tent to tend to the injured on the scene.

TOPSHOT-SPAIN-FIRE
The fire ripped through a multi-storey residential block
AFP via Getty Images
Firefighters work at the burned block building
AP

The fire sent clouds of black smoke billowing skyward that could be seen from afar. Spain’s weather agency, Aemet, reported winds of up to 40mph at the time.

Site of the burned block of flats
AP

A man who lives on the second floor of the building told TV channel La Sexta the flames grew rapidly after the blaze started. “The fire spread in a matter of 10 minutes,” he said.

The fire began 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.

The building contains 138 flats and is said to be home to 450 residents.

Fifteen people, including six firefighters and a young child, have been injured.

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