VALENCIA, Spain, Feb  23, 2024 (BSS/AFP) - Fire crews on Friday picked

through a still-smouldering 14-storey apartment block in Valencia, eastern
Spain, a day after a blaze ripped through the building killing at least 10
people.

       Experts said the building was covered with highly flammable cladding, which
could account for the rapid spread of the blaze after it broke out on the
fourth floor at around 5:30 pm (1630 GMT) Thursday.

       Investigators have still to determine the cause of the fire.

       Film footage showed clouds of black smoke as the flames consumed the high
rise of 138 flats in the Campanar district of the Mediterranean port city.

       On Friday afternoon, officials updated the death toll, which had previously
stood at four.

       "We can confirm that following a first inspection, forensic police have
found 10 fatalities," said regional administrator Pilar Bernabe.

       It was still not clear if other people were missing, but local officials
have not ruled out the death toll rising.

       Another 15 people were treated for injuries of varying degrees, including a
seven-year-old child and seven firefighters, but their lives were not in danger.

       Fire crews on Friday entered the blackened ruin of the residential block,
its windows blown out and the once-white facade charred with the residue of
smoke and flames.

       Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez visited the scene.

       He encouraged people to "show empathy, affection and solidarity with the
victims, with their families, with those who still do not know exactly what has
happened" to their loved ones.

       Smoke still wafted from the building though it was quickly blown away by
strong gusts of chilly wind, which had fuelled the flames and complicated
efforts to quench the blaze.
       
       - 'A catastrophe' -
    
       
       Local people took stock of the devastation, their faces grim with shock.
       "Luckily it was at a time when a lot of people were not home, some were
working, others had gone to pick up their kids at school," said Juan Bautista,
a 70-year-old pensioner who was in a wheelchair.

       "If it was later, or at diner, there would have been many more fatalities."

       Slava Honcharenko, a 31-year-old Ukrainian, said he knew several families
of compatriots who had lived in the building. They had been relocated to a
hotel since Thursday night.

       "We feel very bad. We know what it is when you lose your house because we
experienced this two years ago in Ukraine," he told AFP.

       Spanish media said rescue workers had used drones to locate the dead.

       Esther Puchades, deputy head of Valencia's Industrial Engineers Association
(COGITI), told local media the fire had spread so rapidly because the building
was covered with highly combustible polyurethane cladding.

       The fire, which started in an intermediate floor, spread within minutes to
the entire building, said residents.

       Sergio Perez, a 49-year-old driver who lives nearby, said the building
burned as if someone had "poured gasoline" on it.

       "It's a catastrophe. Unimaginable. It's devastating," he said.
       
       - Dramatic rescue -
    
       
       As the fire raged, residents could be seen waiting to be rescued on
balconies.
       Firefighters used a crane to pluck a father and his daughter from a balcony
where they were trapped, an operation broadcast live on national TV.

       Onlookers cheered and applauded as they were brought to the ground.

       Other dramatic footage showed a man jumping several floors onto an
inflatable mat to escape the flames.

       Valencia has announced three days of mourning and suspended the start of a
month-long annual festival.

       Fuastino Yanguas of the Valencia fire brigade said the material used on the
facade of the building must be investigated.

       It was, he said, "a factor that contributed a lot" to the lightning spread
of the flames, as were the strong winds, with gusts of up to 60 kilometres (40
miles) per hour at the time the blaze broke out.

       The fears that polyurethane cladding might have exacerbated the Valencia
fire recalled the 2017 tragedy at London's Grenfell Tower, when a fire killed
72 people in the 24-storey high rise.

       The blaze spread rapidly because of the highly combustible cladding on the
block's outside walls. A public inquiry into the disaster has yet to publish
its final report.