Valencia fire: Four dead & 14 missing after fire rips through Grenfell-style cladding on 14-storey block

FOUR people have died and at least 14 are missing after a horrific fire engulfed two apartment towers in Valencia.

The deadly fire spread through the building’s combustible cladding – in a chilling echo of the Grenfell Tower tragedy.

Many are still missing after two towers were engulfed in flames in ValenciaCredit: Getty

Heroic firefighters rescue two people trapped on balcony Credit: Getty

Dozens of firefighters were called to the scene to put out the fireCredit: TVE/UNPIXS

The fire is believed to have started on the fourth floor of the buildingCredit: Getty

Firefighters attempt to comfort building occupantCredit: EPA

Dozens of firefighters remain at the scene in ValenciaCredit: AFP

Firefighters continue to search for missing residents several hours after the fire startedCredit: AP

Shocking footage shows firefighters working to extinguish the blaze as the building was engulfed in flames as burning debris fell to the pavement.

The raging inferno is believed to have started after 5.30pm local time on Thursday at a building in the western Campanar district of Valencia, Spain.

The fire is believed to have started on the fourth floor and spread quickly – trapping some of the 350 tenants registered to live in the 14-storey complex.

Footage taken from the ground shows helpless residents standing on their balconies waving for help as flames and black smoke billow around them.

The top of the building – made up of two towers connected by a “panoramic elevator” – appeared to be collapsing as bright orange flames engulfed dozens of apartments.

In one video, an emergency worker standing on top of a tower crane appeared to be reaching for someone who was trapped.

In another, a firefighter jumped from the first floor of a burning block onto a mat laid out by emergency services.

The firefighter, covered in soot, was then helped by two others to the waiting emergency services.

Fourteen people were treated for injuries – including a seven-year-old child and six firefighters – and 12 were taken to hospital, emergency services said.

At least four people have died – and the official death toll is expected to rise sharply once fire crews are able to enter the block of flats.

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Bodies were reportedly spotted on balconies with the help of drones.

But at least 14 people are still missing – including a woman and her nine-year-old daughter – and firefighters say no one is expected to be alive.

María José Catalá, the mayor of Valencia, said that the foreigners were in the apartment building.

“We know there are foreigners and the information we have is likely to change throughout the day,” she said.

It comes as…

Blaze started on the fourth floor of an apartment building in the city’s Campanar district
The fast spread of the fire is due to the easily flammable coating
At least 14 people are still missing – and firefighters say no one is expected to be alive
The mayor of Valencia says foreigners were in the building
A hero janitor went door to door to save neighbors after a fire alarm failed to go off
Three days of official mourning will be declared

“At the moment we know that 14 people are missing.

“There are people who are foreigners who have spent a few days in Valencia and that can complicate things.

“Until we get inside the building, we won’t know the real situation.”

Esther Puchades, deputy head of the Association of Industrial Engineers of Valencia, blamed the fire’s rapid spread on the building’s highly flammable polyurethane cladding.

The tragedy of Grenfell Tower

The fire that engulfed Grenfell Tower in West London in June 2017 killed more than 70 people.

A large fire broke out on Wednesday, June 14, 2017, just after 1 a.m.

It is believed to have started on the fourth floor, before quickly spreading throughout the building.

At least 350 people are believed to have been inside when the fire started, with some still trapped hours later.

Desperate residents could be heard screaming for help, and horrified witnesses said they could see people waving sheets through windows and some jumping from the building.

The police later confirmed that 72 people died in the fire.

Cladding was installed on Grenfell Tower as part of a £9m refurbishment completed in May 2017.

The fire was caused by an electrical fault in the refrigerator on the fourth floor of the building.

Flames quickly spread through the building to all floors – accelerated by the dangerously flammable aluminum composite cladding and exterior insulation.

Just two months before the fire, the London Fire Brigade warned all 33 councils in the capital about the risks of cladding high-rises.

The investigation into the disaster collected evidence for four and a half years, and the final hearings were held in November 2022.

In November 2023, the official findings from the investigation were postponed again.

Speaking from the scene after midnight local time, Mr Suárez said “the worst hypothesis has been confirmed: four people dead”.

The president of the government of Valencia, Carlos Mazón, said that “with great pain, what we were already afraid of has been confirmed”.

Catalá, the mayor of Valencia, said the city council would order three days of official mourning.

She added: “There are no words to describe the immense pain that the city of Valencia is feeling right now.”

Hell Destroyed Buildings Credits: Rex

The deadly fire spread through flammable cladding on the buildings Credit: AP

The fire broke out in a 14-story block in the Campanar districtCredit: AP

The fire engulfed two residential buildings in the Spanish cityCredit: AFP

Devastated residents were seen at the scene after the horrific fire broke outCredit: Reuters

The deadly fire broke out after 17:30 local time in the Spanish cityCredit: Getty

People watched in horror as their homes were engulfed in flamesCredit: Reuters

Crowds of people stood watching the fire spread Credit: Getty

Luis Ibanez, who lives nearby, said he looked out his window and saw flames engulf the block “within minutes – saying it was “like it was made of cork”.

“I couldn’t believe what I was seeing. The entire side of the building directly opposite was on fire, from the first to the sixth and seventh floors,” he told TVE.

A very strong wind was blowing and the fire was spreading to the left at great speed.

Terrified tenants also claimed that “not a single alarm went off” – and the building’s sprinklers were not working.

But the heroic janitor went door to door to save the neighbors, reports Diario ABC.

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez said he was “horrified by the terrible fire”.

On X, he wrote: “I just spoke with the president @carlos_mazon_ and the mayor @mjosecatala to know the situation firsthand and offer all the necessary help.

There are no words to describe the immense pain that the city of Valencia is feeling right now

María José Catalá Mayor of Valencia

“I want to convey my solidarity to all the people affected and my appreciation to all the emergency personnel who have already been dispatched to the scene.”

Local media reported that several sheets of metal fell to the ground, onto the floor and onto cars before firefighters and police arrived at the scene.

Police began cordoning off the area as of 6:45 p.m. local time due to fears the fire could spread to nearby buildings, according to Economía Digital.

The building was thought to be the last one built in the Nou Campanar area of Valencia during the real estate boom.

The fear of the polyurethane coating that will start a fierce fire reminded of the tragedy in Grenfell Tower in London in 2017.

A fire at a 24-storey block of flats in west London has killed 72 people – with the flames spreading quickly due to highly flammable cladding on the block’s external walls.