At least ten people have died in a fire in a retirement home near the city of Zaragoza in northeastern Spain. Two people's lives are in danger. The Aragon region declared a day of mourning for tomorrow.
At least ten people died in a fire in a retirement home in Spain overnight. Several others were injured when a fire broke out at the home in Villafranca de Ebro, outside the Spanish city of Zaragoza, local authorities said. Accordingly, two people are in critical condition.
Doctors and psychologists on duty
According to local media, 82 people lived in the home, which specializes in the treatment of dementia and mental illnesses. Early in the morning someone raised the alarm. According to authorities, two employees were in the facility at the time of the accident.
The fire department was able to extinguish the flames later. Police, doctors and psychologists were also on duty. According to authorities, the residents of the home were taken to other facilities after the fire.
Many victims probably died Smoke inhalation
The mayor of Villafranca de Ebro, Volga Ramírez, said in front of the retirement home that the heavy smoke probably caused the deaths. “It was because of smoke inhalation, not because they burned,” she told reporters. Many residents of the home had “mobility problems” that would have made rapid evacuation difficult, Ramírez said.
The cause of the fire was initially unclear. According to initial information, a mattress in a resident's room may have caught fire, Mayor Ramírez told radio station Cadena Ser. The fire mainly raged in one room. However, it was able to spread from there.
Prime Minister Sanchez expressed his condolences
Jorge Azcón, the head of government of the northeastern Spanish region of Aragon, which includes Villafranca de Ebro, confirmed the deaths. All administration events planned for today in the region would be canceled, he wrote on the online platform X. He declared a day of mourning for tomorrow.
Spain's Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez also expressed his condolences to “the families and colleagues of the people involved in the accident and the entire population of the Aragon region” and wished the seriously injured “the fastest possible recovery.”
Similar incidents in previous years
There have been several tragic fires in Spanish retirement homes in recent years. In January 2022, six people died in a care facility in Moncada near Valencia, and in February of this year three people died in a fire in a retirement home in Madrid.
