|
|
|
|
|
13 October 2023
|
Several killed in Spanish nightclub fire in Murcia
|
|
|
At least 13 people were killed in a blaze in Murcia, south-eastern Spain on Sunday, 1 October 2023. The fire started in one nightclub and spread to two others nearby, Spanish state news agency EFE said. All the bodies were found in the first nightclub. Diego Seral, of the national police, said the roof of La Fonda had collapsed, which was making it challenging to locate victims and work out what had happened.
The fire broke out in the Fonda Milagros nightclub, known as La Fonda, in the complex of Atalayas, a popular area of Murcia, where dozens of nightclubs, fast food outlets and nightclubs are located, early on Sunday morning. It then spread to neighbouring clubs as patrons rushed to escape the packed dancefloors, police said.24 people were injured but none were hospitalised.
Photos from the scene show water hoses from fire trucks continuing to spray the blackened facade in a street invaded by emergency vehicles, with thick smoke escaping from the roof of the nightclub.
According to the mayor of Murcia José Ballesta, the fire service mobilised 12 emergency vehicles, 40 firefighters, as well as around twenty police officers.
Murcia town hall reported that authorities had rejected permit renewals for the two nightclubs and ordered them closed in 2022. The city said it would investigate how the clubs had continued operating.
Representatives of the clubs denied on Spanish national television that they had been operating illegally.
The city council declared three days of mourning with flags flown at half-staff on public buildings. A minute’s silence was held outside Murcia´s town hall at noon Monday.
Spain's King Felipe VI has been among those to express his condolences. "Pain and dismay as the tragic day in Murcia has progressed," wrote a representative for the King on X (formerly Twitter). "Our solidarity with the families of the victims and with the entire city."
The fire is believed to be the country's worst such blaze in more than 30 years. In 1990, 43 people were killed in a nightclub in Zaragoza.
Sources: BBC News, Euro News, Sky News
The fire broke out in the Fonda Milagros nightclub, known as La Fonda, in the complex of Atalayas, a popular area of Murcia, where dozens of nightclubs, fast food outlets and nightclubs are located, early on Sunday morning. It then spread to neighbouring clubs as patrons rushed to escape the packed dancefloors, police said.24 people were injured but none were hospitalised.
Photos from the scene show water hoses from fire trucks continuing to spray the blackened facade in a street invaded by emergency vehicles, with thick smoke escaping from the roof of the nightclub.
According to the mayor of Murcia José Ballesta, the fire service mobilised 12 emergency vehicles, 40 firefighters, as well as around twenty police officers.
Murcia town hall reported that authorities had rejected permit renewals for the two nightclubs and ordered them closed in 2022. The city said it would investigate how the clubs had continued operating.
Representatives of the clubs denied on Spanish national television that they had been operating illegally.
The city council declared three days of mourning with flags flown at half-staff on public buildings. A minute’s silence was held outside Murcia´s town hall at noon Monday.
Spain's King Felipe VI has been among those to express his condolences. "Pain and dismay as the tragic day in Murcia has progressed," wrote a representative for the King on X (formerly Twitter). "Our solidarity with the families of the victims and with the entire city."
The fire is believed to be the country's worst such blaze in more than 30 years. In 1990, 43 people were killed in a nightclub in Zaragoza.
Sources: BBC News, Euro News, Sky News
