The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Colombia confirmed on Tuesday night that there are three Colombians among the thirteen deceased last Sunday in a fire in a nightclub in Murcia (Spain).
“According to the Colombian Consulate in Valencia, Spain, so far three Colombians have been reported among the 13 missing (deceased)”, The Colombian Foreign Ministry said in a statement, in which it reported that it maintains communication with the victims’ family and the local government of Murcia to “provide comprehensive support to survivors and relatives.”
The fire broke out at dawn on Sunday in one of the premises of the Atalayas complex, a popular area of Murcia where dozens of discos, fast food establishments and nightclubs share space, without it being known at the moment how it occurred.
The flames quickly spread to the two adjoining nightclubs at a time when there were still people enjoying a night out with friends.
One of the premises, the Fonda Milagros, was rented by a Colombian citizen and it was a meeting place for many Latin Americans in the city.
(Also read: Colombian owner of nightclub burned down in Spain: ‘We didn’t know there was a fire’)
The municipal authorities confirmed the number of thirteen deaths, as the five people who were missing, who contacted their relatives in the last few hours, were located in good condition. In addition, no new bodies have been found in the damaged area.
An official source told Efe that the thirteen deaths from the fire last Sunday in three nightclubs in the Spanish city of Murcia (southeast) They were Latin Americans, from Colombia, Nicaragua and Ecuador.
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Among them are, in addition to the three Colombians, five Nicaraguans and apparently as many from Ecuador, although the same sources could not specify the number of the latter because identification tasks are still being carried out.
The remains of the deceased have not yet been delivered to their families, although all autopsies have already been carried out and they will be compared with the DNA provided by their loved ones at the National Institute of Toxicology and Forensic Sciences in Madrid.
The identity of the five Nicaraguans
This Tuesday, The Government of Nicaragua confirmed the identity of five of its citizens who died in the incident, four of them members of the same family.
“We want to greet the families who are here, in Nicaragua. An entire family, with friends, of Nicaraguans (from the department) of Chinandega who died in the fire, (in) the tragedy that unfolded in a restaurant, in a nightclub, in Murcia, Spain,” said Nicaraguan Vice President Rosario Murillo.
(Also: Tragedy nightclub in Spain is owned by Colombians: new details revealed)
According to Murillo, wife of President Daniel Ortega, the Nicaraguans had been residing in Spain for at least 16 years. where they worked.
The dignitary read the names of five Nicaraguans among the victims of the fire: Martha Alejandra Zamora, 62 years old, and her children, Sergio Enrique Silva, 39 years old, and Erick Salomón Torres, 30 years old. Also Ofilia del Carmen Blandón, 27 years old, and Torres’ wife.
He also mentioned Tania Martínez, 49 years old, who had lived and worked in Spain for 17 years.who, according to Murillo, “died with her husband of Ecuadorian origin,” whose name she did not specify.
Pending official confirmation, The rest of the victims would be Ecuadorians who had lived in the country for several years. Among them, a Spaniard of Ecuadorian origin, according to official sources told Efe.
The regional government of Murcia announced this Wednesday that it will manage the arrival to Spain from France, Ecuador and Nicaragua of five relatives of the victims.
Sources from the regional Executive informed Efe that, along with the management of these international transfers, the cost of expenses related to the regrouping will be assumed, in addition to coordinating the assistance needs that arise in all cases, in coordination with the city councils. from Murcia and the town of Caravaca de la Cruz, where two couples of Ecuadorian and Colombian origin lived.
(In other news: Tragedy due to fire in a nightclub in Murcia, Spain: ‘Mommy, I love her, we are going to die’)
Theories about the fire at Fonda Milagros
Two of the nightclubs involved in the fire did not have a municipal license and on them there was an order to cease activity from January 2022.
Despite this, the owner of La Fonda Milagros, Colombian Juan Esteban Ramírez, assured that he was not aware of the notification of said closure.
In turn, the Teatre nightclub, also burned down, lacked a municipal license and had an order to cease activity from 2022. Despite this, it passed a health inspection by the City Council in March of this year.
A court in Murcia opened proceedings for 13 crimes of reckless homicide, punishable by between 1 and 4 years in prison, a case in which the City Council requested to appear as a private prosecutor in the case to “purge all responsibilities of any kind.
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Ramírez, owner of Fonda Milagros, estimates that when the fire started this Sunday, between 5:50 and 6:00 local time there were about 150 people inside the premises.
“At that time there were not that many people, in fact people were already leaving (…) and we were able to evacuate as many people as possible,” he stated.
Ramírez also said that “the fire came with such force that the normal light went out.” and the emergency light went on, which only lasted forty seconds.”
“We were left completely dark in the nightclub, which is why most of the missing and deceased people did not come out.” (…) I begin to evacuate people, following the evacuation protocol that they require of us. “What happened is that it was very fast,” he said.
This fire is the deadliest recorded in Spain in a leisure venue since the tragedy in 1990 at the “Flying” nightclub in Zaragoza, where 43 people died.
*With EFE
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