Spanish firefighters battle blaze engulfing apartment building in Valencia

MADRID, Spain – Firefighters battled a blaze that engulfed an entire apartment building in the Spanish city of Valencia on Thursday, with local media reporting several residents still trapped inside.

Television images showed the entire facade of the building ablaze as burning segments fell to the pavement below and small explosions were heard inside.

Sixteen firefighting units and five ambulances had been deployed to the scene, in an affluent neighborhood north of the city center, local emergency services said.

The fire began on the fourth floor of the building and spread to other apartments, emergency services said on X.

Local media reported several residents calling for help from the balconies of their apartments. Ana Mari Gonzalez, who works in a nearby clinic, told TVE she could see firefighters working to rescue a teenage boy trapped on the building’s first floor. — Reuters