At least 13 people were killed in a nightclub fire in Spain

Authorities in Spain reported that at least 13 people had perished in a fire that broke out in a nightclub early on Sunday. There are concerns that the number may grow as rescuers search through the wreckage.

The fire appears to have broken out in a building housing the "Teatre" and "Fonda Milagros" clubs in the city of Murcia in southeastern Spain.

Diego Seral, a national police spokesman, stated that "the fire spread from the upper parts of the two clubs, the Teatre disco and the Fonda Milagros disco... which were originally in the same building."

Officials are still unsure of the precise location of the fire's origin.

The list of 15 persons reported missing by the police following the fire is not yet complete, according to Seral, and may include the names of some of the victims who have already been found.

"The Murcia fire brigade... will continue to secure the building for the next few hours. It cannot be ruled out that another body may be located", the emergency service said shortly after 10:00 pm (2000 GMT).

They warned that there would be "no definitive toll until they have completed their work" scouring the rubble.

- Search for more victims -

Journalists were informed by a man named Jairo that his 28-year-old daughter had been inside one of the clubs. He claimed to be the father of one of the victims. He continued, saying he hadn't heard from her since she left a frantic voicemail at 6:06 a.m.

A young woman's heartbroken voice could be heard on the recording, "Mum, I love you, we're going to die, I love you mum," as people shouted for the lights to turn on in the background.

On the former Twitter platform, X, emergency services announced that firefighters were still on the scene and that they had not ruled out "the possibility of finding more victims."

Jose Ballesta, mayor of Murcia, said the fire had broken out at around 6:00 am local time (0400 GMT) and had been "extremely serious".

Emergency workers had so far pulled out 13 bodies from the ruins, a task complicated by the risk of the building collapsing, he told journalists.

Three of the victims had been identified by their fingerprints. "The rest of the bodies will have to be identified by DNA."

Firefighters dispatched to the scene at 7:00 am were able to extinguish the fire by 8:00 am, he added.

Officials said four people, two women aged 22 and 25 years old and two men in their forties, were treated for smoke inhalation.

- Birthday party -

A police spokesperson said that a birthday party was being held at the club on Saturday night. Officers and firefighters were trying to find some of those who attended who were still unaccounted for.

The national police spokesman, Diego Seral, told Radio Onda Regional de Murcia that "according to initial information, the fire broke out on the first floor of the nightclub, which has a ground floor and a first floor."

The city's fire brigade has released video footage of the firefighters using a long hose to move past bar tables with drinks still on top of them as they approach the bright orange flames inside the venue.

Twelve emergency vehicles and more than forty firefighters were on the scene, according to the authorities.

After "this tragic day in Murcia," the king of Spain expressed "pain and dismay" and thanked the rescuers for their "exemplary work."

* "Solidarity with the victims and relatives of the tragic fire in a Murcia nightclub" was expressed by Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez.

- Three days of mourning -

Spain's tennis superstar and this year's Wimbledon champion Carlos Alcaraz, who comes from Murcia, wrote on X that he was "very affected by the terrible news".

The city's mayor announced three days of mourning and set up a reception base for relatives of victims. The city's bars and restaurants will remain closed Sunday as a mark of respect to the victims, said Hoytu, the local hotel-restaurant association.

A floor collapsed in a crowded nightclub on Tenerife, a holiday island in Spain, in 2017, injuring forty people.

People from France, Britain, Romania, and Belgium were among the injured.

Additionally, a nightclub fire in Zaragoza, a city in northeastern Spain, claimed 43 lives in 1990.