A deadly fire in Manlleu, Spain, claimed the lives of five teenagers, with initial investigations indicating that smoke inhalation from a rapidly burning object was the cause.
A tragic fire in Manlleu, Spain, resulted in the death of five adolescents, aged 14 to 18, when a small storage space on the rooftop of a five-story building became engulfed in flames. Initial investigations suggest that a rapidly combustible material, likely a mattress or plastic, sparked the blaze, creating an abundance of smoke in the closed environment. Unfortunately, the lack of ventilation and the confined space led to the victims succumbing to asphyxiation.
The fire ignited in a small storage area approximately eight square meters in size, located at number 66 on Montseny Street. Eyewitness reports and early evidence indicate that the fire grew quickly due to the type of material burned, which generated substantial smoke. First responders arrived to find the atmosphere within the cramped space heavily smoke-filled, contributing to the desperate situation faced by the teenagers trapped inside.
The Catalan police, Mossos d'Esquadra, are actively investigating the cause of the fire to determine the exact circumstances that led to this devastating incident. Authorities have clarified that they have ruled out the possibility of an explosion from a nitrous oxide gas cylinder as a potential cause of the fire, focusing instead on identifying the specific substances that led to the rapid ignition and subsequent smoke inhalation that claimed the lives of these young people. This incident has profoundly impacted the local community, prompting grief and calls for safety reviews in residential buildings with similar storage setups.
