A fire that broke out at a block of flats in Villajoyosa, in the province of Alicante (Valencia) in the early hours of Monday has killed three members of the same family, with 15 others injured.
Flames from the blaze gutted a property on the 11th floor of the building and killed the grandmother, father and the youngest son, aged five. In addition, up to 15 people were injured in the incident, according to the Alicante region’s Emergency Information and Coordination Centre (CICU).
Some 120 people were evacuated following the fire that took place in a town with a large foreign population. The 15 people injured were taken to hospital for treatment for smoke inhalation, police said.
The fire, which started at around 2.15am, was brought under control. The blaze erupted less than two weeks after another fire killed 10 people in the port city of Valencia in the same region, in a tragedy that shocked the country.
The fire in Valencia devastated a 14-storey high-rise building and an adjoining 10-storey block which together housed 138 flats. ALSO READ: Valencia falls silent to pay tribute to victims of residential high-rise inferno.
Experts said the building was covered with highly flammable cladding, which could account for the rapid spread of the blaze.
It prompted worried property owners to seek expert advice to ally fears that their own homes could be at risk.
"La fachada de hormigón ha evitado una tragedia mayor": el alcalde de Villajoyosa (Alicante) recuerda que el fuego se ha desatado cuando la mayoría de los vecinos estaban durmiendohttps://t.co/GH1HdSq0Cm pic.twitter.com/UrHog9FG9V
— Cadena SER (@La_SER) March 4, 2024
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