Six charged in manslaughter probe of Murcia nightclub fire that killed 13

Spain’s deadliest nightclub fire in three decades broke out in the Fonda Milagros club in the city of Murcia in the early hours of 1 October and then spread to a neighbouring venue called Teatre as patrons rushed to escape.

Among those charged are ‘the managers and administrators’ of the two nightclubs, a Murcia court which is investigating the blaze said in a statement.

Also charged was the owner of a cold spark machine — a special effects device that creates a fountain of sparks without heat or flame — used at Teatre on the night of the fire.

The court did not say what role the machine was suspected of playing, but ordered an examination of it.

Nine people who were at the nightclubs and were injured by the flames or smoke have been summoned to testify as witnesses, the court added.

Prosecutors have said that if the deaths are found to have been caused by negligence or inadequate safety measures, those responsible could face up to nine years in jail.

All of the fatalities happened in the Fonda Milagros establishment. Most of the victims were so badly burned that the authorities had to ask their relatives to provide DNA samples in order to identify the bodies.

Murcia City Council said the Fonda Milagros nightclub had been ordered to shut down in October 2022 because it lacked a proper licence, but that it had kept operating. The managers of the nightclub said they had their papers in order.

ALSO READ: Court opens manslaughter probe over Murcia nightclub fire that killed 13.

ALSO READ: Murcia nightclub where 13 died in fire had been ordered shut since Jan 2022.