Voracious fire consumes building in Spain, killing 10 residents

At least 10 people died in a raging fire that completely destroyed a 14-story building in the Spanish city of Valencia.

The fire began on Thursday around 5:00 p.m. local time (4:00 p.m. GMT) on the eighth floor of the building, located in the Campanar neighborhood. The flames spread quickly, fanned by the wind blowing in the area.

Some experts said the building was covered with a highly flammable polyurethane coating, which could explain the rapid spread of the fire, although authorities have not confirmed this.

Police said on Saturday they found the body of a person who was listed as missing, raising the death toll to 10, and Spanish authorities confirmed that the number of missing people coincides with the corpses.

The 10 deceased were trapped on the highest floors, specifically on the floors above where the fire started. The eighth and ninth floors became death traps, after the voracity of flames and suffocating smoke quickly invaded the apartments.

According to the local press, four of the victims were members of the same family: the father, the mother, a 3-year-old girl and a newborn.

Residents of the building, which was made up of two joined towers of 138 apartments, woke up completely burned this Friday. Videos shared on social networks depict homes being consumed by flames and large clouds of black smoke.