Five young people have died and five others suffered light injuries after a fire broke out late Monday in a five-storey apartment building in Manlleu, a town of around 21,000 residents north of Barcelona, according to Catalonia’s emergency services.
The blaze began in a storage room located on the roof or attic level of the building, regional authorities said.
For reasons that remain unclear, the victims were unable to escape the storage area, where firefighters later found their bodies. Some of the remains were badly charred, and formal identification is expected to take place later on Tuesday.
Emergency services received the first calls shortly after 9.10pm, when several residents dialled 112 to report smoke filling the stairwell and flames on the upper floor. 13 firefighter crews were dispatched, although the building had already been fully evacuated by the time they arrived.
Firefighters extinguished the blaze in under 30 minutes. During the operation, crews located one person in cardiorespiratory arrest, followed shortly by the discovery of the other four victims inside the storage area. Health services sent eleven ambulances and two psychological support teams to the scene, but none of the victims could be saved.
The Catalan police, the Mossos d’Esquadra, said all five of the deceased were young people and did not live in the building. Initial reports suggesting the storage space had been used as a dwelling were later ruled out by police, who indicated it was likely being used as premises rather than as a residence.
Of the five injured, four were taken to hospital and later discharged, while the fifth did not require hospital treatment, emergency services said.
An investigation has been opened by the Mossos to determine the cause of the fire. Authorities have not yet said whether the case is being treated as a possible homicide. Local police assisted residents following the incident, and those evacuated have since been allowed to return home after officials confirmed the building posed no structural safety risk.
Catalonia’s regional leader, Salvador Illa, expressed his condolences on X, saying he was ‘deeply saddened by the death of five people’.
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Mueren cinco jóvenes en el incendio de un trastero habilitado como vivienda en Manlleu, Barcelona.
— RTVE Noticias (@rtvenoticias) February 17, 2026
Tres de los fallecidos eran menores de edad y hay también cuatro heridos leves https://t.co/djI6wHX3f9
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