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The burned-out high-rise in the Campanar district of the port city of Valencia

Photo: Eva Manez / REUTERS

The number of deaths in the fire disaster in Valencia has risen to ten.

"We can confirm that after an initial search, the police found ten bodies and ten fatalities," the representative of the central government in the autonomous community of Valencia, Pilar Bernabé, told journalists on Friday.

So far, five deaths had been reported in the major fire on Thursday.

Four bodies had already been recovered that night.

It was a couple and their two children, as the newspaper “La Vanguardia” reported, citing investigative circles.

The death of a fifth person was confirmed on Friday.

Valencia's mayor María José Catalá said in the morning that up to 15 residents of the residential complex that had completely burned out the day before were still missing.

The number of injured was reported to be up to 15.

The fire broke out on the fourth floor of the 14-story apartment block in the Campanar district of the port city late in the afternoon on Thursday and spread rapidly.

The house with over 100 apartments was completely engulfed in flames within a short period of time.

30 fire-fighting teams were deployed.

Footage shared online showed firefighters rescuing a father and his daughter from a balcony.

Facade made of highly combustible material

Several experts said the fire was able to spread so quickly because the facade was covered with highly flammable polyurethane or polyethylene.

Firefighter Faustino Yanguas said the facade material may have been a "significant factor" in the rapid spread of the flames - as well as strong wind gusts of more than 60 kilometers per hour.

Resident Luis Ibáñez told TVE that the building was ablaze "within minutes," "as if it were made of straw."

According to media reports, the first four fatalities were discovered with the help of drones.

The firefighting teams were unable to enter the burned-out building for a long time and first had to cool the charred remains from the outside.

The search for further victims is “now a priority,” said Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez during a visit to the scene of the accident.

Three days of mourning were declared in Valencia.

The authorities promised the affected families aid amounting to several thousand euros and replacement apartments.

A football match between the first division club FC Valencia and FC Granada was postponed, as was a game in Valencia between UD Levante and FC Andorra.

czl/dpa/AFP