Family-of-four, including 15-day-old baby, killed in Valencia fire as death toll rises to 10

23 February 2024, 16:18 | Updated: 23 February 2024, 17:16

A family of four, including a 15-day-old baby, were among the victims killed in the Valencia fire as the death toll rises to 10.

A fire broke out in a 14-storey apartment block in the Campanar neighbourhood, on the edge of the city centre, on Thursday afternoon.

The blaze engulfed the block within half an hour, witnesses said.

After the first visual inspection of the building, it was confirmed that 10 people had lost their lives in the accident, María José Catalá, mayor of the city, said.

Among the victims was a family of four - two young parents and their two-year-old boy and a baby that was 15 days old.

They are the first fatalities confirmed by authorities.

Read more: Spain's Grenfell: Four dead and 19 missing after cladding blaze ripped through flats in Valencia

"They died of asphyxiation in the bathroom while she was saying goodbye to her mother on the phone," said a neighbour of the complex who knew the family.

"They were talking until the signal went dead."

The cause of the fire was not immediately known, but reports suggest it might have spread rapidly due to materials used in the building's structure.

Terrified residents could be seen trapped on their balconies waited to be rescued as the flames engulfed the building.

Firefighters were able to lift two residents from one of the balconies using a crane.

Soldiers from Spain's military emergency unit were also deployed, and medics set up a large tent to tend to the injured on the scene.

But several more did not survive.

A government spokesperson said: "The scientific police had 14 people unlocated. During the morning we have located four people, therefore we can say that those 10 people who remained unlocatable coincide with the bodies that have been found in the building and that are currently being transferred by those responsible."

Officials said 14 people were injured - including six fire fighters - but did not have life-threatening injuries. Only six are still in hospital.

Spain's PM Pedro Sanchez travelled to the scene on Friday and gave a speech.

"The priority now is the search for victims and without a doubt trying to safeguard the safety of public servants," he said.

"I would like, on behalf of the Government of Spain and I believe on behalf of Spanish society as a whole, to convey our solidarity, affection and empathy to the families of the victims already known by this terrible fire."

He also thanked the emergency services, saying: "These are times when we value the work of public servants much more."