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A fire that broke out in an apartment block in Magaluf early on the morning of Thursday Jun 11 has left two people dead and 24 others injured, one of them in a critical condition. The building is on Calle Martín Ros García, right in the heart of the Punta Ballena tourist area, a spot well known to British holidaymakers.

 

The two people who lost their lives have been named as a 58-year-old Argentinian man and a woman whose identity hasn't yet been confirmed. According to Calvià's mayor, Juan Antonio Amengual, both died while trying to escape down the building's stairwell as the fire spread.

 

Fire service sources told local media that the blaze started somewhere between 5am and 6am, prompting crews from Calvià and Llucmajor to be sent out straight away. The fire took hold on the third floor before spreading upwards, and at one point 17 people were trapped inside the building and had to be confined there for their own safety.

 

Sources said the fire itself was "very intense, but controllable" from early on, but the real danger came from the smoke, which filled the entire building as the flames took hold. Investigators believe the fire may have started because of an electrical fault in a fridge in one of the third floor flats, though this is still being looked into.

 

One neighbour told reporters what the resident of that flat had described to him.

 

"He says the refrigerator started burning, he tried to put it out with a fire extinguisher and couldn't, he threw water on it and that didn't work either, and then he was suffocating and ran out of the apartment," the neighbour said.

 

The same resident explained that he'd smelled smoke and heard strange noises before realising what was happening, and got out of the building along with several others. Mallorca's fire department confirmed the fire started in the kitchen of the flat, although they're still working out exactly what triggered it.

 

There had been earlier reports suggesting eight firefighters were injured during the operation, but emergency services later clarified that wasn't the case. They explained that after incidents involving this much smoke, firefighters routinely have medical checks afterwards, and this may have been mistaken by some for treatment for injuries.

 

Of the 24 people hurt, four needed hospital treatment, two taken to Son Llàtzer Hospital and two to Son Espases. One of them, a 77 year old British woman, is in a critical condition with first degree burns and has been moved to the Juaneda Clinic in Palma, where she's receiving hyperbaric oxygen therapy. The remaining injured were treated either at the scene or by emergency medics from the 061 service.

 

Calvià Town Council has declared two days of official mourning following the tragedy, something confirmed by mayor Juan Antonio Amengual after he visited the scene. Flags will fly at half mast on municipal buildings during this period, and a minute's silence will be held at Friday's graduation ceremony at Bendinat high school.

 

Images: Calvià Town Council