Three firefighters, two of whom had burnt hands, were among the injured in a message published on social networks.
Television images showed flames engulfing the building, billowing thick black smoke. No apartment was spared from the flames. According to emergency services, the fire started on the fourth floor of the building before spreading to others. The building is located in the district of El Campanar, the third largest city in Spain.
Scenes from “Anarchy”.
Twenty-two fire teams were sent to the scene to try to put out the fire, said rescuers on the X. Eight medical units were also at the accident site where a field hospital would be set up. Strong winds in Valencia on Thursday made firefighters’ work more difficult, according to officials.
Jose Jordan/AFP
Asked by public television, the owner of a flower shop located near the building confirmed that the building was the oldest there, 14 years old, and that its hundred apartments were currently occupied. Describing scenes of “chaos”, she added, “Wind was the main factor that fueled the fire”. Another resident explained on the same television that the building caught fire at an incredible speed: “It looks like it’s made of straw,” he said. – he said, indicating that the fire broke out around 5:30 p.m.
“We ask the residents of other districts of the city not to come close to the fire to facilitate the work of the rescue teams that have been mobilized,” said the mayor of Valencia, Mara José Catala.
Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez said he was “disappointed by the terrible fire that broke out in a building in Valencia,” all affected.”
