At least thirteen people were killed in the fire at a nightclub in the Spanish city of Murcia on Sunday.a toll that threatens to rise as police advance through the rubble, authorities announced.

“We regret to inform you that thirteen people have died in the fire in Atalayas,” José Ballesta, the mayor of Murcia, reports on X (formerly Twitter).

“The fire brigade continues to work on site and new victims cannot be ruled out.“, the rescue services indicated.

The fire, which broke out at around 6 a.m. (0400 GMT) in the Teatre nightclub, located in the Atalayas district, was “extremely serious,” Ballesta told the press from the scene of the incident.

The fire brigade who arrived on site at 7am managed to extinguish the fire within an hour.but “bodies still need to be removed” from the rubble, a complicated task given the “risk” of collapse,” the mayor said.

Four people, two women aged 22 and 25 and two men aged 41 and 45, were affected by smoke inhalation.

This was stated by a spokesperson for the national police AFP that the priority is finding the missing.

The official said there was a birthday party at the property on Saturday and not all attendees have been located.

The origin of the fire is still unknown and the circumstances in which the tragedy occurred are unclear. Authorities are currently focusing on three neighboring nightclubs affected by the flames: the Teatre, the Fonda Milagros and the Golden.

At this time, the bodies were found in the premises of Fonda Milagros, police said.

Diego Seral, spokesman for the National Police, explained that the fire started in the upper part of the Teatre and Fonda Milagros nightclubs. Originally, both belonged to the same building, he noted.

“We’re going to die”

The police officer explained that a list of fifteen missing persons had been drawn up, but that it could include the names of the people whose bodies have been found as well as those currently in hospital.

A man who identified himself as Jairo and who introduced himself as the father of one of the victims told the press that he had no news about his 28-year-old daughter.

According to what he said, the young woman left a voice message at 6:06 a.m. in which she could be heard crying. He has not been able to contact her since.

“Mom, I love her, we’re dying‘ says the young woman, while shouting can be heard in the background asking for the light to be turned on.

Photos released by emergency services show fire trucks throwing water at the blackened facade and thick smoke rising from the roof of the nightclub.

“Firefighters continue to work to determine the number of missing people,” said the emergency services, which had set up an information room for relatives.

Three days of mourning

The president of the government, the socialist Pedro Sánchez, expressed in X his “affection and solidarity with the victims and relatives of the tragic fire.”

The mayor of Murcia declared three days of mourning and reported that 40 firefighters and 12 emergency vehicles have been mobilized.

“Strength and encouragement to family and friends in these difficult times“, said.

The tragedy also prompted tennis player Carlos Alcaraz to react. “Very shocked by the terrible news from Murcia after the fire in several nightclubs last morning,” he wrote in X.

As a sign of mourning, the city’s bars and restaurants decided to keep their doors closed on Sunday evening, the local catering federation HoyTú announced.

In 1990, 43 people died in a fire at a nightclub in Zaragoza, in the northeast of the country. (JO)