Four dead, TWENTY more feared killed as inferno tears through cladding on 14-storey Spanish block of flats in horrifying repeat of Grenfell Tower disaster: Heroic firefighters hauled survivors off burning balconies with others forced to JUMP
The death toll is expected to climb today after a 14-storey tower block in Spain was gutted by an uncontrollable inferno, with experts blaming its flammable cladding in a tragedy reminiscent of London’s Grenfell Tower disaster of 2017.
At least four people were confirmed killed last night and a further 19 were missing, feared dead, despite the heroic efforts of firefighters who braved the raging fire to haul trapped residents from their balconies.
The apartment block in Valencia caught fire at around 5.30pm on Thursday, trapping some of the more than 400 residents in the complex in their homes before it continued to rage on into the early hours of Friday morning.
Dramatic footage shows a man jumping several floors onto an inflatable mat to escape the raging fire, while other homeowners were seen awaiting rescue on their terraces as the flames closed in around them.
One couple, seen in footage being hauled to safety by firefighters, were later pictured being taken for treatment by emergency workers, seemingly not too badly hurt.
Witnesses described how the fire engulfed the entire block ‘like cork’, with the flames spreading ‘in a matter of minutes’ and moving through the main tower and then into an adjoining building,
Spain’s TVE public television said there were more than 130 flats in the building which was rapidly ‘reduced to a skeleton’.
As the sun rose on Friday, firefighters were preparing to enter the building to begin the grim task of going door-to-door in the search for bodies. Crews were still tackling the blaze, but said it was ‘controlled’.
Dramatic video shows the moment residents trapped in a tower block inferno in Spain were rescued from their balcony
Firefighters are seen reaching a trapped resident of the building
Firefighters rescue people from the building in Valencia in dramatic footage of the inferno
Flaming debris has come crashing down around firefighters as they have been working to extinguish the inferno
Dramatic footage shows a man jumping several floors onto an inflatable mat to escape the raging fire, while other homeowners were seen awaiting rescue on their terraces as the flames closed in around them
The apartment buildings were entirely gutted by the huge inferno, which broke out on Thursday evening
Residents were trapped on their balconies – just metres from the flames – as they waited for firefighters to rescue them from the inferno
The apartment block in Valencia caught fire at around 5.30pm on Thursday. The fire continued to rage on into the early hours of Friday morning
The fire raged late into Thursday night and left the building as little more than a shell
Firefighters worked through the night to put out the huge inferno, which left the building completely gutted
The tower block before the fire. Construction began on the building in 2005 and it was completed around 2009
The site of the tower block fire in the Campanar area of Valencia on Avenida Maestro Rodrigo, at the junction with General Aviles
In June 2017, a fire ripped through Grenfell Tower, a 24-storey high-rise in west London, killing 72 people
Devastated residents evacuated from the burning apartment building watch on helplessly as the fire continued to rage on
The apartment block, in the Campanar area of the port city, was covered with highly-flammable polyurethane cladding, which experts have blamed for its rapid destruction.
The material is legal but no longer widely used after it was linked to the 2017 Grenfell Tower fire, with an inquiry into the disaster being told that polyurethane and other combustible materials had been used in the building.
If cladding is to blame in this case, it could be the first fire of its kind in Spain, according to an engineer who previously surveyed the building.
Firefighters said last night that they do not expect any of the missing to have survived the blaze – the cause of which is currently unclear.
Town hall officials had earlier said 19 people were unaccounted for but the number later rose to 20.
The official death toll is not expected to rise until later today when fire crews and other emergency responders are able to access the inside of the apartment block.
Jorge Suarez, sub-director of emergencies for the regional Valencian government, said last night that 14 people including at least six firefighters had been injured in the blaze.
Confirming fears there would be fatalities, he said: ‘We have to confirm the worst of the hypotheses that were on the table.
‘Four people have died. We can now confirm that but we can’t give out any more information at the moment.
‘Firefighters are still working exclusively outside the building on tasks related to extinguishing the blaze.
‘The characteristics of the building make it impossible to carry out any such work inside the structure so the work being done at the moment is focused on cooling down the outside and that’s going to be the focus over the next few hours.
‘I can’t say at the moment when they’re going to be able to go inside the building.’
Confirming earlier reports firefighters had sighted four bodies after they put up a drone, he added: ‘The information on the four fatalities is based on visual information we have.’ Two of the bodies were seen on a terrace, and the others on a floor.
Authorities confirmed that 14 people had been injured, among them nine men aged between 25 and 57, four women aged between 27 and 81, and a seven-year-old boy.
Twelve of them are understood to remain in hospital, as of midnight last night.
More details began to emerge this morning of the miracle rescue of a couple trapped on the seventh-floor in images that went around the world.
The man and woman were trapped on their seventh-floor balcony for almost two hours before being plucked to safety by firefighters in cherry pickers.
They covered their faces with scarves and woolly hats to protect themselves from the flames, smoke and intense heat.
At one point they were even filmed trying to jump over a partition wall separating their balcony from their neighbour’s terrace before being dissuaded by the fire crews trying to reach them who focused on dousing the outside of their flat with water to try to keep the flames away and make reaching them possible.
The couple were heard shouting for help as their rescuers tried to calm them down and darkness descended on the area.
They were plucked to safety around 8pm, with onlookers fearing a fatal outcome cheering as they were brought to the ground.
They received emergency medical attention following their rescue but are not thought to have needed hospital treatment.
Their whereabouts this morning was unknown. Other survivors are being put up in hotels or staying with family and friends.
Firefighters attempt to rescue two stranded residents who fled to the balcony as the building was engulfed
Emergency services work at the scene of a fire of apartment building in Valencia
Multiple fire pumps are at the scene battling the blaze, which reportedly spread from one residential building to another
The building in the Campanar area of the port city has been completely gutted
Devastated residents comfort each other at the scene of the huge fire in the Campanar area
Residents were pictured watching on in horror tonight as their homes were destroyed in front of their eyes
The multistorey building was left completely gutted, with crowds seen gathering to watch the destruction unfold
Black smoke consumed the entire building with small fires seen blazing inside late into the night
Construction began on the building in 2005 and it was completed around 2009, with the construction company boasting at the time that it was built with ‘the highest quality materials’.
More than 20 fire crews were involved in tackling last night’s blaze, with their efforts being hampered by the wind and soaring temperatures of the fire.
Witnesses said that firefighters managed to rescue several people, including a father and daughter, teenage boy and a couple, from their balconies.
Speaking to EFE, Esther Puchades, who is deputy head of Valencia’s Industrial Engineers Association (COGITI), blamed the building’s cladding for the fire’s ferocity and said that the tragedy may mark ‘a turning point’ in Spain.
Images recalled the London disaster in June 2017 when a fire ripped through Grenfell Tower, a 24-storey high-rise in the west of the British capital, killing 72 people.
The blaze spread rapidly due to the highly combustible cladding on the block’s outside walls. A public inquiry into the disaster is still ongoing.
Speaking to Valencian TV on Thursday, Puchades explained that when construction began on the now destroyed building, ‘the bad reputation of polyurethane was not so widespread’ as it is now, in the wake of Grenfell and other disasters around the world.
‘Today it is not used, at least not in that way,’ she added, referring to increased safety measures around its usage in Spain.
Spanish rescue services members take care of a person affected by a fire in a 14-story residential building in Valencia
A general view of the facade during the building fire on February 22, 2024
A black cloud of smoke entirely engulfed the building on Thursday evening and flames
The fire is believed to have broken out at around 5.30pm on one floor before quickly spreading to the rest of the block
Firefighters have been using cranes to help rescue people from the burning building
Engineer David Higuera also told Spanish newspaper El País that the building’s cladding may have been the cause of the rapid spread of the fire.
The material is ‘very good at insulating against heat and cold, but very combustible,’ he said.
Dozens of residents were pictured watching on in horror tonight as their homes were destroyed in front of their eyes.
A resident who lives on the second floor of the building told TV channel La Sexta that ‘the fire spread in a matter of 10 minutes’ after it broke out.
He speculated that material on the facade of the building may have enabled the flames to move through the building so quickly.
A resident who lives in the building opposite told RNE radio what she saw when the fire broke out.
‘At first the fire came out of the balconies and parts of the facade fell down,’ she said, adding that wind had blown parts of the cladding off in recent years and that it had needed to be repaired.
Spain’s TVE public television said there were more than 130 flats in the building.
Television images showed the entire facade of the building ablaze as burning segments fell to the pavement below and small explosions were heard inside.
A woman who runs a nearby flower shop told public television the building was no more than 14 years old and had more than 100 flats, all of which were occupied.
‘What caused the fire to spread was mostly the wind,’ she said, describing scenes of ‘chaos’ as the blaze took hold, snarling traffic and sending clouds of smoke everywhere.
A field hospital was set up near the scene in case possible victims required treatment.
Experts have blamed the Valencian building’s flammable cladding in a tragedy reminiscent of the Grenfell Tower disaster in London in 2017 (pictured)
The 14-storey flat has reportedly been ‘reduced to a skeleton’ while a nearby building has also been consumed by the flames
A firefighter works at the scene during the building fire on February 22 in Valencia, Spain
Dramatic footage shows two residents desperately trying to shelter from the fire. A number of people have been rescued from their balconies by firefighters
Building manager and resident Adriana holds back tears as she watches the block go up in flames
Firefighters work to extinguish the flames as they continue to rip through the residential block
The cause of the fire is unknown and it is not known if there are any victims
Images showed flames and vast clouds of black smoke engulfing the building
Firefighters have been battling the blaze as it rages through the residential block in the eastern port city
Local media reported several residents calling for help from the balconies of their apartments.
Ana Mari Gonzalez, who works in a nearby clinic, told TVE she could see firefighters working to rescue a teenage boy trapped on the building’s first floor.
‘Please stay away from the area of the fire to let the emergency services do their work,’ Valencia’s mayor Maria Jose Catala wrote on X.
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said he was ‘shocked by the terrible fire’ and was in contact with the mayor and the region’s leader ‘to offer whatever help they needed’ and extending his condolences to everyone affected by the blaze.
The Spanish Royal family sent their support to emergency services and added: ‘Our hearts are with the Valencians.’