Five kids are useless after fireplace in condo constructing in Spain

Five children have died after a fire broke out in an apartment building in Spain.

The blaze started at around 9pm on Monday in the small town of Manlleu, north of Barcelona.

Local police said none of the victims lived in the building and they were all aged between 14 and 18. 

An investigation has now been launched to discover the cause of the fire and why the children were unable to escape the room.

Police declined to say whether they were looking into the case as a possible homicide.

Among the injured elsewhere in the building, four were later released from hospitals while one other didn’t require hospitalisation, emergency services said. 

According to the Spanish publication El Pais, the fire might have been started when a mattress caught alight. 

Neighbours claimed that the abandoned storage room where the fire broke out was often used by children. 

Emergency services outside the building where a fire started at around 9pm yesterday in the small town of Manlleu, north of Barcelona

The apartment building earlier today. Local police said none of the victims lived in the building and they were all aged between 14 and 18. An investigation has now been launched to discover the cause of the fire and why the children were unable to escape the room

The residents also alleged that children were also known to use nitrous oxide in the area but so far there is no indication that this could have caused an explosion which started the blaze.    

Catalonia’s regional leader, Salvador Illa, expressed his condolences for the dead and their families on X, saying he was ‘deeply saddened by the death of five people.’ 

The local school where the victims studied also released a statement.

The Antoni Pous high school said: ‘We are aware of the impact this has had on all of us. As an educational institution, we will continue to look after the well-being of our students.’

A minutes silence was observed this afternoon outside Manlleu Town Hall.