Simon Hunter
THE EMERGENCY exits at the Teatre and Fonda Milagros nightclubs in the Spanish city of Murcia were closed with padlocks on the night that a deadly blaze broke out there, leaving 13 people dead.
That’s according to a firefighters’ report handed over to the court that is investigating the tragedy, and reported by Spanish daily El Pais.
At just gone 7am on October 1, around an hour after the fire had broken out, firefighters tried to access the nightclub from the rear.
But they found not just a series of obstacles in the alleyway, but also two doors locked with chains and padlocks, as well as a metal grille also closed with a padlock.
The judge in charge of the judicial investigation into the tragedy is considering 13 charges of involuntary homicide. On Monday, the managers and administrators of the Teatre and Fonda Milagros nightclubs were given dates for their questioning in court as official suspects.
Also called to testify are the organiser of the ‘We are remember’ party that was being held that night in one of the clubs, as well as the owner and operator of a fire and spark pyrotechnic machine that was being used in the venue and that could have caused the fire, El Pais reports.
After the deadly blaze it was reported that one of the nightclubs, Fonda Milagros, did not have an operating licence and had been ordered to close back in January 2022.
No one from the council was able to explain why no subsequent inspections had taken place to ensure the nightclub was observing the order.
Read more:
- Police in Spain’s Murcia resort to DNA testing to identify victims of horrific nightclub fire
- Nightclub at centre of tragic fire that killed 13 in Spain’s Murcia had no licence
- Investigations could last ‘for weeks’ to find cause of Murcia nightclub inferno that killed 13 people
