At least 10 killed after fire tears through retirement home
At least 10 people have been killed and two injured after a fire ripped through a retirement home in northeastern Spain.
The blaze broke out at the Jardines de Villafranca nursing home in Villafranca de Ebro, Aragón, at 5am local time (4am GMT).
Ten people died inside the building from smoke inhalation.though officials have not said whether the death toll includes residents or workers.
Two people who were injured, including one person who is in critical condition, have been taken to the Royo Villanova hospital. Other people are being treated for mild smoke inhalation, officials say.
There were 82 people at the old-age home on Calle Alfonso Bes Labuerta at the time of the fire, according to the local newspaper Heraldo de Aragón.
The cause of the fire, which has since been extinguished, is unclear.
Mayor of Villafranca de Ebro, Volga Ramírez, suggested that the fire may have started ‘in a mattress’ in one of the rooms of the single-storey building.
She stressed that there ‘cannot be more bodies’ as ‘everyone’ was evacuated.
‘Once all the smoke had cleared, we put them back inside because the firefighters told us it was safe,’ she told the radio station RNE.
Aragón president Jorge Azcón posted on X: ‘Shocked by the tragic fire at the nursing home in Villafranca de Ebro that claimed the lives of 10 people. We are suspending all events as a sign of mourning.
‘My deepest condolences to the families of the deceased.’
Relatives of the care home residents have been urged to go to Villafranca Town Hall.
Jardines de Villafranca was opened in 2008 as a retirement community but also cares for people living with mental health conditions, according to its website.
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