Fire in Spain: at least 14 people missing, according to local authorities in Valencia
In Spain, the city of Valencia is still in shock after the impressive fire which ravaged a residential building on the evening of Thursday February 22.
At least four people died in the flames and fifteen others are still missing, including a two-year-old child and a two-week-old baby.
Firefighters work at the scene of a fire at an apartment building in Valencia, Spain, February 23, 2024. © Eva Manez / Reuters
By: RFI Follow
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With our correspondent in Madrid,
Diane Cambon
Within an hour, the fourteen-story building located in the center of Valencia, Spain
,
was ravaged by flames.
These have spread all along the facade both horizontally and vertically.
This morning, all that remains is a carcass of the building that is still incandescent, which complicates access to its interior.
Firefighters, six of whom were injured last night, are still searching for residents stuck in this building of 138 apartments.
They use drones to enter completely destroyed homes.
In total, 22 firefighting teams were deployed to the building to try to put out the flames, rescuers said on X. Eight medical units were also sent to the scene of the disaster, where a field hospital was installed.
In the evening, firefighters notably saved a father and his daughter, trapped on their balcony, according to a video posted on social networks.
Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez will visit the site at midday on Friday, his services announced.
The prefect of the Valencia region, Pilar Bernabé, indicated for her part on Friday morning that “
14 people
” had “
not been located
” among the residents of the building.
“
This figure may vary
,” she warned, however.
The mayor of Valencia, María José Catalá, mentioned the number of “
9 to 15
” missing.
The manufacturer accused
In the aftermath of the tragedy, questions about the materials used to insulate the facade multiplied and implicated the builder, whose company went bankrupt in 2010. This builder, who built another equally high-end building in the city of Valencia, would have used a polyurethane facade covering.
This material is a petroleum derivative that amounts to “
solidified gasoline
,” according to engineers.
This insulation is known to be easily flammable, but its use is legal.
This is the same material that was used in
Grenfell Tower
in London, whose fire killed 72 people in June 2017.
Spain was already recently marked by a dramatic fire which left 13 dead in early October
in a nightclub in Murcia
(south-east).
Six people were charged in December with “
involuntary homicide
” after this tragedy.
(
And with
AFP)
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