MURCIA: Thirteen people were killed in a fire in a Spanish nightclub on Sunday morning, authorities said, with fears the toll could still rise as rescue workers sift through the debris.

The fire appears to have broken out in a building housing two clubs in the city of Murcia, south-eastern Spain, in the early morning hours.

“The fire spread from the upper parts of the two clubs, the Teatre disco and the Fonda Milagros disco... which originally were in the same building,” said a police spokesman.

Authorities were not certain where exactly the fire started.

Police have established a list of 15 people missing after the blaze, but they said it was not yet final and could contain names of some of the victims who had already been found.

Jose Ballesta, mayor of Murcia, said the fire had broken out at 6am local time and was “extremely serious”.

Firefighters were able to extinguish the fire by 8am, he said.

Ballesta told the press that “there are still bodies to be pulled out” from the rubble.

Authorities said four people were injured, two women aged 22 and 25 years old, and two men in their forties, all suffering with smoke inhalation.

Birthday party

A police spokesperson said a birthday party was being held at the club on Saturday night.

“According to initial information, the fire broke out on the first floor of the nightclub, which has a ground floor and a first floor,” police told radio Onda Regional de Murcia.

Video footage released by the city’s firefighting brigade shows the firefighters holding a long hose approaching bright orange flames inside the venue, passing bar tables that still have drinks placed on top of them.

The city’s mayor announced that three days of mourning would be observed.

Published in Dawn, October 2nd, 2023