Fire in Spain's Alicante kills two adults and young child
A fire that broke out in a building in the Alicante province town of Villajoyosa has killed a family of three, including a five-year-old boy, just ten days after the huge blaze in an apartment block in Valencia.
Some 120 people were evacuated following the fire in Villajoyosa, a town on Spain's eastern coast close to Benidorm with a large foreign population.
Fifteen lightly injured people were taken to hospital for treatment for smoke inhalation, police told AFP.
Early reports point to the casualties being an elderly woman, her son and her five-year-old grandson.
The young boy's body was found hugging his pet dog, which also died in the fire.
The fire, which started at around 2:15 am (0115 GMT), was brought under control by 4:00 am.
Villajoyosa mayor Marcos Zaragoza said that the blaze that took place high up in an apartment in a 24-storey building was "a terrible tragedy", and that even though emergency service were quick at the scene, they were unable to prevent the death of the family.
Police said it was not immediately clear what caused the blaze although media reports spoke about an overloaded plug socket.
The blaze erupted less than two weeks after another fire killed 10 people in the port city of Valencia in the same region, in a tragedy that shocked the country.
Incendio en Villajoyosa pic.twitter.com/4olZfeoNsB
— F11 Peacekeeper (@frann636) March 4, 2024
The fire in Valencia devastated a 14-storey high-rise building and an adjoining 10-storey block which together housed 138 flats.
Experts said the building was covered with highly flammable cladding, which could account for the rapid spread of the blaze.
It prompted worried property owners to seek expert advice to ally fears that their own homes could be at risk.
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Some 120 people were evacuated following the fire in Villajoyosa, a town on Spain's eastern coast close to Benidorm with a large foreign population.
Fifteen lightly injured people were taken to hospital for treatment for smoke inhalation, police told AFP.
Early reports point to the casualties being an elderly woman, her son and her five-year-old grandson.
The young boy's body was found hugging his pet dog, which also died in the fire.
The fire, which started at around 2:15 am (0115 GMT), was brought under control by 4:00 am.
Villajoyosa mayor Marcos Zaragoza said that the blaze that took place high up in an apartment in a 24-storey building was "a terrible tragedy", and that even though emergency service were quick at the scene, they were unable to prevent the death of the family.
Police said it was not immediately clear what caused the blaze although media reports spoke about an overloaded plug socket.
The blaze erupted less than two weeks after another fire killed 10 people in the port city of Valencia in the same region, in a tragedy that shocked the country.
Incendio en Villajoyosa pic.twitter.com/4olZfeoNsB
— F11 Peacekeeper (@frann636) March 4, 2024
The fire in Valencia devastated a 14-storey high-rise building and an adjoining 10-storey block which together housed 138 flats.
Experts said the building was covered with highly flammable cladding, which could account for the rapid spread of the blaze.
It prompted worried property owners to seek expert advice to ally fears that their own homes could be at risk.
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