MURCIA – At least thirteen people have died in a fire at a nightclub in Murcia. The incident took place around 6.00 am at the Teatre nightclub in the Atalayas district in the east of the city.
As confirmed by 112 from the Murcia region, the alarm was received around that time.
Four people were initially reported injured due to smoke inhalation.
More casualties not ruled out
Local police closed access to the area and the nearby Carretera de Alicante was also closed. When firefighters extinguished the flames later in the morning, they gained access to the nightclub, where they initially found six bodies. Since then, a further seven bodies have been located. Another four people have been affected by smoke inhalation. According to the police, 15 were missing. Besides the fatalities, one survivor has been recovered safely but another person is still missing.Firefighters are not ruling out finding more bodies.
An information room has been set up in a nearby sports hall. A team of psychologists is accompanying the victims’ relatives and friends.
According to La Opinión de Murcia newspaper, the first hypothesis is that the fire may have been caused by a short circuit in the nightclub’s floodlights, after which the fire would have spread very quickly. According to the newspaper, the disco’s roof partially collapsed. But it then collapsed completely when firefighters had already been working for an hour. Specialised fire investigation units are being deployed to determine the origin of the fire.
A birthday party was reportedly held at the disco with 20 participants.
Pedro Sanchez has contacted the president of Murcia, and has expressed his condolences to the victims and families of the tragic fire. He has also thanked the emergency services for their work at the scene.
Murcia City Council has declared three days of offiicial mourning in the city. Furthermore, the municipal calendar was suspended on Sunday.
