AT least four people have been confirmed dead following Valencia’s ‘worst ever’ fire that has already been dubbed ‘Spain’s Grenfell’.
Emergency services fear many more deaths will be announced with at least 19 people still missing as of the early hours of Friday morning.
The City Council has declared three days of mourning for the lives lost in the disaster.
At least 14 people have been confirmed as injured since the blaze was first reported on Thursday afternoon – a figure that is likely set to rise.
Among the injured are nine men, six of them firemen, aged between 25 and 57, four women aged between 27 and 81 and a child less than seven years old.
The fire is described by authorities as Valencia’s ‘worst ever’.
The barrio is described in local press as being ‘relatively new’, and is filled with shopping centres and green areas, including a Bioparc.
A Level 2 Emergency has been declared due to the ‘extensive damage’ and the ‘extraordinary’ resources and measures needed to tackle the situation.
Witnesses told the EFE news agency that the flames spread “very quickly” and caused a “a brutal cloud of smoke” that “practically turned day into night.”
Meanwhile, Esther Puchades, an engineering expert from a Valencia colllege said the intensity of the fire is due to the polyurethane coating on the facade of the building.
An thorough investigation will be carried out by the authorities once the fire is put out.
Social media users are already branding the disaster ‘Spain’s Grenfell’, referencing the tower block in east London which suffered a similar fate in 2017.
Residents who have been rescued from the building have been sent to various different hospitals in the region.
Firefighters and emergency services are continuing to put out the blaze.
The flames have been aided by strong winds on Thursday, which reached up to 50km/hr.
