Two days after the major fire in a residential complex in the Spanish Mediterranean metropolis of Valencia, the body of the last missing person was found in the burned-out building. This brought the death toll from the fire disaster to ten.
This was announced by the representative of the central government in the autonomous community of Valencia, Pilar Bernabé. Another 15 people were injured, most of whom had already been able to leave the hospital. Bernabé emphasized that there are currently no other missing people.
The modern residential complex contained 138 apartments with around 450 residents, as the state TV broadcaster RTVE reported. The newspaper “La Vanguardia” gave the number of 143 residential units. The fire broke out late on Thursday afternoon around 5 p.m. and within a very short time had engulfed the entire residential complex, which consisted of two wings of different heights. The reason why the flames spread surprisingly quickly, even for many experts, was probably flammable parts of the facade insulation, as Spanish media reported. Strong winds also fanned the flames.
Spanish media pointed out that it was a blessing in disguise that the fire broke out during the day. If people had been surprised while they were sleeping at night, the tragedy could have been much greater. In addition, a caretaker noticed the fire early and ran from apartment door to apartment door to warn residents. The judiciary opened an investigation into the cause of the fire. The question of what role the facade cladding played is likely to be of crucial importance.
