AT least 13 people have been killed after a fire broke out in a busy nightclub in Spain this morning.
Firefighters are still searching for more victims in the smouldering ruins of the venue in the southeastern city of Murcia.
The inferno broke out this morning at around 6am and ripped through the Fonda nightclub, police said.
The fire also reportedly affected neighbouring night hotspots, known as Teatre and Golden.
Another four people – two women, aged 22 and 25, and two men, 41 and 45 – have been injured after suffering smoke inhalation.
Shocking footage showed heavy black smoke billowing from the popular venue as forty firefighters are still working to extinguish the flames.
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Rescuers are still searching for several people reported missing and authorities expect the number of fatalities to rise.
Mayor Jose Ballesta said on X/Twitter that they were working to establish the cause of the blaze.
Firefighters are allegedly looking for several missing people who belonged to the same group that were celebrating a birthday party, La Verdad reports.
The emergency responders are working to stabilise the structure in order to extract the bodies and look for further victims.
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"The work of extracting victims is exhausting, the firefighters go out, they take turns on the ground with oxygen, they have to drink water because it is quite difficult," Ballesta said.
National Police spokesman Diego Seral said: “It’s too early for us to say how the fire started. That is still under investigation.”
The Homicide Group of the Murcia Police have joined the investigation into the cause of the fire.
Murcia resident Alan Antonio Antia told local media he had been at the Fonda Milagros club last night with 20 people.
He had gone home after dinner but many of his group, mostly from Nicaragua and Ecuador, stayed to party at the venue.
“Of the 20 people in my group, nine didn’t come out," Alan said.
Police have now said that all the victim's bodies were found inside Fonda.
The father of a 28-year-old woman said to be “missing” has revealed that she sent her mum a WhatsApp audio message saying: “Mummy, I love you, we are going to die.”
He said his daughter's phone went off after the message was sent and that the voices of terrified people could be heard shouting in the background.
The unnamed woman is said to have travelled 50 minutes to go to one of the venues affected by the blaze with her boyfriend and friends.
Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez voiced "solidarity with the victims and relatives of the tragic fire in a Murcia nightclub".
The city's town hall had earlier said it "deeply regrets" the accident and offered condolences to those affected.
The mayor announced that three days of mourning would be held, and set up a reception base for the relatives of victims.
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Meanwhile, officials have confirmed there had been a previous fire in June 2009 at the Teatre nightclub.
No-one was hurt in that blaze which was said to have been caused by cables crossing the nightclub facade but 50 people were evacuated.
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