Two dead as fire ravages Spanish warehouse housing migrants

Firefighters work at the site of the blaze 

Credit: REUTERS/Albert Gea

A fire ripped through a warehouse occupied by migrants near Barcelona killing at least two people and injuring 17, Spanish officials said Thursday.

The blaze broke out at around 9pm local time on Wednesday in an industrial area of Badalona, a Barcelona suburb, where up to 200 migrants lived in squalid conditions, according to Badalona city hall.

Firefighters said on Twitter they had so far found two bodies inside, adding the building could collapse.

"We found 60 people but many escaped through the back windows and fled. Maybe more than one hundred people left," said Badalona mayor Xavier Garcia Albiol.

Images broadcast on local television and social media showed huge flames leaping from the building, with several people hanging from windows trying to escape.

At least 17 people were injured, including two in critical condition, the regional health minister Alba Verges said.

Some were injured after jumping from the building, she added.

"I am deeply sorry for the loss of human life and I am grateful for the great work of the emergency services, who have saved dozens of people from the flames," Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said.

Twenty-six fire crews were at the scene of the blaze on Thursday morning.

Badalona is home to around 200,000 people.