The number of deaths in the devastating fire disaster in Valencia has now risen to ten. “We can confirm that the police have identified 10 dead after an initial search,” Pilar Bernabé, representative of the central government in the autonomous community of Valencia, told reporters on Friday.
Carlos and Dani, two 16-year-old boys, said they watched in amazement from a nearby park Thursday afternoon as the fire spread to the roof within minutes. “It flickered along the metal panels of the facade or behind it, but always upwards,” Carlos told El País newspaper. The two also reported that people were screaming for help on their balconies. When firefighters used a turntable ladder and a rescue basket to rescue two residents from a balcony already threatened by flames, people in front of the building clapped and cheered.
So far, five people have been killed in Thursday’s major fire. Four bodies had already been recovered the previous night. It involved a couple and their two children, the newspaper ‘La Vanguardia’ reported, citing investigative circles. The death of a fifth person was confirmed on Friday.
Maximum 15 missing persons
The mayor of Valencia, María José Catalá, announced early this morning that fifteen residents of the residential complex that had completely burned down the day before were still missing. The number of injured was a maximum of 15. The fire broke out a day earlier in one of the 143 apartments in the modern building complex:
The flames then quickly spread to the entire building. Experts cited flammable cladding and high winds as possible causes for the rapid spread of the fire.
No cheap buildings: Spain in shock
Spain was in shock after the fire disaster in the Mediterranean metropolis. The speed with which the fire spread from one apartment to the entire complex also frightened many Spaniards. Engineer David Higuera can only explain the explosive spread of the fire with flammable parts of the cladding. The enormous cloud of black smoke above the building can hardly be explained otherwise. The strong wind fanned the fire even further.
Millions of Spaniards live in such large residential complexes, largely built during the construction boom before the 2008 financial crisis. These are not social housing, but often apartments for higher standards, with a communal swimming pool, chic landscaping, elevator and underground parking. Presumably quite a few residents of such complexes look concernedly at the facade of their home.
Source: Krone
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