The Japan Times - Spain probes nightclub fire that claimed 13 lives

The blaze, which broke out early on Sunday in a building housing the Teatre and Fonda Milagros discos on the outskirts of the southeastern city of Murcia, is Spain's deadliest nightclub fire in over three decades.

All of the people who were reported missing after the fire have been accounted for, including three people who were at a beach and had their mobile phones turned off, local officials said.

"It seems that there are no more people missing," the head of the Murcia regional government, Fernando Lopez Miras, told Spanish public television.

Police suspect the fire broke out in the Fonda nightclub and then spread to neighbouring venues as patrons raced to escape.

"The fatalities were all concentrated in a very small area in the Fonda establishment," police spokesman Diego Seral said, adding that a birthday party was being held there at the time.

Video footage released by the Murcia fire brigade shows the firefighters holding a long hose approaching fierce flames inside the venue, passing bar tables that still had drinks on them.

A man named Jairo, who said he was the father of one of the victims, told reporters his 28-year-old daughter had been inside one of the clubs.

He had had no news of her since she left a desperate voice mail message at 6:06 am, he added.

"Mum, I love you. We're going to die. I love you mum," a young woman's voice could be heard crying on the recording, while in the background people shouted for someone to turn on the lights.

- 'Badly burned' -

The fire appears to have spread through the air conditioning vents "which is why it spread so quickly", said the central government's representative in Murcia, Francisco Jimenez.

Police said three of the victims had been identified by their fingerprints.

The rest of the bodies will have to be identified using DNA samples from close relatives.

"We must be patient with the identification of the bodies... The bodies are very badly burned and it is going to be very difficult for experts to work on them," Jimenez added.

Officials said four people -- two women aged 22 and 25 years old and two men in their forties -- were treated for smoke inhalation.

Murcia city hall announced three days of mourning and a minute of silence was observed at noon on Monday for the victims.

"We are devastated, shocked," Lopez Miras said after meeting family members of the victims.

"There is nothing we can say to console relatives and friends of the victims. You are left without words," he added.

- Psychological support -

An information area for victims' relatives has been set up in the nearby sports hall, where a team of psychologists will be on hand to offer support.

Firefighters dispatched to the scene at 7:00 am were able to extinguish the fire by 8:00 am, Murcia Mayor Jose Ballesta said.

More than 40 firefighters and 12 emergency vehicles attended the scene, authorities said.

This is the worst nightclub fire since 43 people died in 1990 at a blaze at a disco in the northeastern city of Zaragoza.

Spain's deadliest nightclub fire took place in December 1983, when 81 people were killed in a blaze in Madrid. Smoke, a failure in the lighting system and a closed emergency door all contributed to the disaster.

S.Suzuki--JT