At least seven people were killed and four injured in a fire that broke out early on Sunday morning at a nightclub in Murcia, Spain, local authorities say,
The injured are two women, aged 22 and 25, and two men, aged 41 and 45, who were all taken to the hospital due to smoke inhalation, the Murcia emergency services website said.
Emergency services are still at the scene looking for more victims. The cause of the blaze is not yet known.
“Worried and dismayed by the news coming from there (Murcia). The emergency services continue working,” the President of the Murcia region posted on X, previously known as Twitter.
At the time of the incident, emergency services were dispatched, with local firefighters requesting the intervention of the helicopter from the General Directorate of Security and Emergencies, the emergency services said, adding later that ground resources were sufficient to put out the fire.
“The General Director of Security and Emergencies, Ricardo Villalba, is on-site coordinating with the Murcia City Council the necessary means to manage this tragedy,” the emergency services said.
“The Vice President and Minister of the Interior, Emergencies and Territorial Planning, Jose Ángel Antelo, is expected to arrive at the site,” they added.
Three days of mourning have been declared in the city of Murcia for “those who died in the fire that occurred at the Teatre de Atalayas nightclub”, Murcia mayor José Ballesta said on X.
A press conference is scheduled for 12.30 p.m. local time on Sunday to address the incident, the Murcia City Council said on X.
An information area for relatives of the victims was set up in the nearby Palacio de los Deportes, where a team of psychologists will be tasked to provide assistance.