In Valencia, eastern Spain, a massive fire tore through a 14-story apartment building, leaving at least four dead and at least 14 missing. Authorities warned on Friday that the death toll might grow.

The building's extremely combustible cladding, according to experts, may have contributed to the fire's quick spread after it started on the fourth level on Thursday at approximately 5:30 p.m. (1630 GMT).

In the western Campanar sector of the port city, a high-rise structure with 138 apartments caught fire, resulting in dramatic photos of clouds of black smoke.

Reporters were informed tonight that "four people have died," said Jorge Suarez Torres, the Valencia region's deputy head of emergency services.

Regional administrator Pilar Bernabe noted on Friday, "As of now, we have 14 people who remain untraced," but she emphasized that the figure might change.

Based on information from neighbors and the police, Valencia Mayor Maria Jose Catala had stated that nine to fifteen individuals were missing, but a source from city hall had stated on Thursday that 19 people were missing.

A seven-year-old youngster and seven firefighters were among the fifteen individuals receiving treatment for injuries of various severity.

Regional Governor Carlos Mazon stated that although six of the fifteen were remained in the hospital on Friday, their lives were not in jeopardy.

Authorities said that 22 firefighting crews had been dispatched to tackle the fire.
According to Suarez Torres, they haven't been able to enter the building yet.

"Our goal is to keep the façade cool. Our objective over the next several hours is that," he stated.

"We can't say when we'll be able to get inside."
- flammable cladding: Esther Puchades, Valencia's Industrial Engineers Association (COGITI) deputy head, said local media that the building's highly flammable polyurethane coating was the reason the fire spread so quickly.

A neighbor named Luis Ibanez told TVE that he had watched the building burning "within a matter of minutes" as he peered out of a window.
"(It was) as if it was made of cork," he stated.
"I had trouble believing what I was witnessing. From the first story to the sixth and seventh floors, the entire side of the building right across from us was on fire," he claimed.

"There was a really strong wind and the fire was spreading to the left at a huge speed."
Valencia was seeing wind gusts as high as 60 kilometers per hour (40 miles per hour) at the time of the fire, according to Aemet, the national meteorological agency.

The image and the idea that individuals were trapped inside shocked the neighbors who had congregated outside.
"The idea that there are actual people suffering inside makes your hair stand on end. There could be fatalities inside, which makes it a calamity, Julia Pascual told AFPTV.

In a live broadcast on national television, firefighters utilized a crane to rescue a man and his daughter who were stuck on a balcony.

As they were lowered to the earth, onlookers erupted in cheers.
In further spectacular footage, a guy can be seen jumping onto an inflatable mat several stories above the blazing flames.
'It may have been me,' I thought.' It's terrible. Thinking about those folks inside makes you shiver," remarked Luis Alberto Clarin, a fellow local who had just returned from his job.

"I may have been the one. My building could have been involved."
"Shocked by the terrible fire," Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said he was in contact with the mayor and the regional governor "to offer whatever help is needed."

He was supposed to arrive at the location on Friday afternoon.

Valencia has halted the beginning of its annual celebration, which lasts for a month, and declared three days of grief.
October saw the destruction of a nightclub in the nearby Murcia province, which resulted in the deaths of thirteen people. This was Spain's worst nightclub fire in thirty years.

Concerns that the Valencia fire will worsen due to polyurethane cladding brought to mind the Grenfell Tower disaster in London in 2017.
In one instance, 72 people perished in a fire in a 24-story high-rise in west London.

The extremely flammable coating on the outer walls of the block contributed to the quick spread of the fire. The final report of a public investigation into the accident has not yet been released.

End//voice7news.tv