At least seven people died on Sunday 1er October morning, in the fire of a nightclub in Murcia, in the south-east of Spain. This toll could rise: the police and firefighters continue to search for bodies in the rubble.
“The death toll now stands at seven who died in the fire. Firefighters continue to work at the scene and do not rule out the possibility of finding new victims.explained the emergency services on the social network X (formerly Twitter).
Warned around 6 a.m. that a fire had broken out in a nightclub located in the Atalayas district of Murcia, firefighters also reported four injuries, two of whom were hospitalized. They were able to enter the nightclub around 10 a.m. “once the fire is out”and discovered “four corpses”then two more about forty minutes later.
An hour later, the Murcia town hall announced that the death toll now stood at seven and that reconnaissance work was continuing. Four people were also injured – two women aged 22 and 25 and two men aged 41 and 45 – after inhaling smoke.
“Priority is given to locating the bodies” in the building, said a spokesperson for the national police. “The scientific police and firefighters continue to locate the possible missing people, because there was a birthday last night and not all the participants have been found”, she continued. And to add: “The investigation has not yet started since the results have not been established. Therefore, there is no preferred avenue at the moment”.
“According to initial reports, the fire broke out on the first floor of the nightclub, which has a ground floor and a first floor, and this is where the fire appears to have started”explained Diego Seral, the local spokesperson for the national police, on Onda Regional radio in Murcia.
Three-day mourning in memory of the victims
Twelve emergency vehicles, forty firefighters and around twenty police officers were needed to put out the flames, according to the authorities. According to the photos released by the emergency services, it is the Teatre nightclub, whose front – which was yellow and red – burned.
The mayor of Murcia, José Ballesta, declared three days of mourning in memory of the victims and the municipality set up a reception cell for their loved ones at the Atalayas Sports Palace. “I am truly sorry and I want to accompany the families of the victims of the fire this morning in Murcia in their pain. All my recognition and gratitude to the emergency services”also commented the leader of the right, Alberto Nuñez Feijoo, on. In 1990, 43 people died in a fire at a nightclub in Zaragoza, in the northeast of the country.