2 months ago
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Three people have died and another 15 have been injured after a fire broke out in a 24-storey block of flats near Benidorm.
Two adults and a minor lost their lives in the blaze, which started at around 2.15am this morning in a flat on the 11th floor.
The three dead are said to be part of the same family. Their nationalities have not yet been revealed.
The other casualties suffered smoke inhalation. Seven are women aged 24 to 67 and the other eight men and boys aged 13 to 57.
The blaze occurred at a property in Villajoyosa, around a 10 minute-drive from the popular tourist hotspot on the Costa Blanca.
Three people have died and another 15 have been injured in a fire at a property near Benidorm
The fire broke out in a flat on the 11th floor of the 24-storey residential block in Villajoyosa
One local unconfirmed report has described the three dead as a child, his dad, and the youngster's grandmother.
Responding to reports the three people who lost their lives, a minor and two adults, were part of the same family, a police spokesman said: 'We are still working on the identification of the victims at the moment.'
All but one of the 15 people who suffered smoke inhalation have been taken to hospital. A police officer also among those hurt was treated at the scene.
On February 22 ten people died after a fire at a residential block of apartments in Valencia.
A woman could be heard screaming in Spanish: 'Help, help please' as flames took hold of the flat where the three people who died are believed to have been trapped.
It was not immediately clear this morning if she was one of the victims.
A man could also be heard yelling in the agonising footage published by an onlooker.
The block of flats is a two-minute walk from the residential estate where Russian defector Maxim Kuzminov was shot dead on February 13.
The 28-year-old, the helicopter pilot branded a traitor by Moscow after defecting to Ukraine last year, was living under a false identity after moving to the Costa Blanca late last year.
The killing, which is still being investigated by police, has been blamed on a Putin hit squad.
The blaze occurred at a property in Villajoyosa, around a 10 minute-drive from the popular tourist hotspot on the Costa Blanca
The victim was shot several times in an underground car park after leaving a ninth-floor flat where he had been living.
Police were today investigating the cause of the overnight blaze, which led to around 120 people being evacuated from their homes.
Others were ordered to stay inside their properties.
A spokesman for a regional government-run emergency response coordination centre said: 'The fire broke out in a flat on the 11th floor of a residential apartment block in Villajoyosa.
'Three fire crews were sent to the scene along with paramedics.
'We received the alarm at 2.13am this morning. The blaze was put out at 7.34am.'
A spokesman for the Civil Guard said: 'At 2:13 this morning the Alicante Civil Guard was alerted about a fire on the 11th floor of a 24-storey building in Villajoyosa.
'Several Civil Guard Units, local Police from Finestrat and Villajoyosa, firefighters from Benidorm, Alicante and San Vicente del Raspeig and several medical teams attended.
'120 people were evacuated from their homes.
'At 3.45am firefighters said they had put out the blaze.
'As a result of the fire three people who have yet to be formally identified have died. Another 15 minor people suffered minor injuries caused by smoke inhalation.
'The causes of the fire are currently unknown and Civil Guard investigators are currently working on establishing them.'
