At least 13 people have died in a fire that has engulfed three clubs in the southeastern Spanish city of Murcia. The fire broke out at the Fonda Milagros nightclub – known as La Fonda – early on Sunday morning and then spread to neighboring clubs. Rescuers are still searching for missing people after the fire.
Outside the club, young people hugged each other, shocked, as they waited for news of the fire that broke out in the early hours of the morning in Atalayas, on the outskirts of the city. "I think we were gone 30 seconds to a minute before the alarm went off and all the lights went out and people were yelling that there was a fire," said one survivor, who did not give his name.
According to Spanish media, several of the dead were from a group celebrating a birthday.
Spain: "Mom, I love you, we're going to die" - The voice message of a 28-year-old to her mother when a fire broke out in a club - 13 dead
(AP Photo/Alfonso Duran)
Diego Serral, of Spain's National Police, told reporters that the dead were located at the Fonda Milagros nightclub, one of three neighboring clubs that suffered the most damage from the fire, including the collapse of its roof, he added.
The collapse is complicating efforts to locate the victims and it is difficult to determine exactly where the fire started, he said.
At the same time, it shocks a 28-year-old woman who sent a voice message to her mother when the fire started, saying: "Mom, I love you, we're going to die." The woman had gone out with her partner and some friends from the nearby town of Caravaca de la Cruz and it is still unclear if she survived, the BBC reports.
Identifying the bodies will take time, Sheral said. According to the emergency services, the toll, which is constantly increasing, has reached 13 dead. The cause of the fire is being investigated.
Earlier, Murcia Mayor Jose Bayesta told reporters that seven bodies had been found at the same spot on the first floor, where the fire broke out at around 6.00am.
A spokeswoman for the Teatre nightclub, Maria Dolores Albeyan, told reporters that the fire broke out in the neighboring Fonda Milagros club, before spreading to the other two adjacent clubs.
Bayesta declared three days of mourning. The flag is flying at half mast outside Murcia's town hall.
Four people have been taken to hospital with breathing problems due to smoke inhalation.
Source: ERT
