At least five young people have died and five others were injured in a fire at an apartment building in Catalonia, northeastern Spain, local authorities have confirmed.
The blaze broke out on Monday evening in a storage room on the top floor of a five-story building in Manlleu, around 80 kilometers north of Barcelona, the fire service said in a statement.
The cause of the fire remains under investigation. Police confirmed that the five fatalities were not residents of the building.
Emergency services received a call reporting smoke in the stairwell and a fire on the top floor. Firefighters found the building had been evacuated by residents upon arrival.
After extinguishing the fire, the first victim was found suffering from cardiac arrest. Fire crews discovered four further bodies in the storage room.
The victims’ ages have not yet been fully confirmed, but reports suggest all were young, with some possibly under 18, according to sources cited by Spanish news agency EFE.
The fire service said those inside the storage room were unable to escape for unknown reasons. Despite the rapid response from firefighters and ambulance teams, officials said nothing could be done to save their lives.
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