The number of victims could rise in the coming hours, authorities warned.
At least thirteen people died in the fire at a nightclub in Murcia, southeastern Spain, on the night of Saturday September 30th to Sunday October 1st. The number of victims could rise in the coming hours as police continue to search for bodies in the rubble of the night facility. Franceinfo summarizes what we know about the tragedy.
The “extreme severity” fire broke out around 6 a.m.
The fire broke out at around 6 a.m. in a nightclub in the Atalayas district of Murcia. In one of them, the “Fonda Milagros”, the thirteen bodies were found, but the flames spread to two more through nightclubs, the “Teatre” and the “Golden”, where emergency services do not rule out the search for victims. The fire was “extremely serious inside,” said the city’s mayor, José Ballesta. Firefighters dispatched to the scene at 7 a.m. were able to extinguish the fire by 8 a.m.
According to the authorities, twelve emergency vehicles, 40 firefighters and around twenty police officers were needed to extinguish the flames. The Murcia firefighters published photos and videos of the operation on X (formerly Twitter).
A preliminary report said there were at least thirteen dead
The death toll from the fire was revised upward several times throughout the day on Sunday. “Six new bodies were found in the rubble of the nightclub. The death toll rose to thirteen. Further victims are still possible,” said the emergency services shortly before 2 p.m.
A few minutes earlier, the mayor of Murcia had told the press, announcing the recovery of four bodies, that others were still trapped and that he had not ruled out the possibility of finding more bodies in the rubble. “The scientific police and the fire department are continuing to search for possible missing people, as there was a birthday last night and not all participants have been found,” a spokesman for the state police told AFP.
Two women, aged 22 and 25, and two men, aged 41 and 45, were also treated after inhaling smoke.
“No preferred lead” to explain the disaster
At the beginning of Sunday afternoon, the causes of the disaster were still unclear. “The investigation has not yet begun as the results are not yet available. Therefore, no lead is currently favored,” said the state police spokesman. “Experts from the scientific and criminal police have been deployed (…) to investigate,” the state police said on X.
According to initial information from the authorities, the fire broke out on the ground floor of the discotheque.
Three days of mourning were decreed in Murcia
Acting Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez expressed on
The mayor of Murcia declared three days of mourning in memory of the victims and the municipality set up a reception cell at the Atalayas Sports Palace for the victims’ families. “I am truly sorry and I want to accompany the families of the victims of the fire in Murcia this morning in their pain. All my appreciation and thanks go to the emergency services,” commented the leader of the right, Alberto Núñez Feijóo on X.