Spain: two dead and ten injured in a restaurant fire in Madrid
Sylvie Claire / April 23, 2023
Two people were killed and ten others injured in a fire that broke out Friday nightin Madrid in a restaurant where a flambé dish was being served, authorities and the press reported Saturday, citing witnesses.
The emergency service Samur of the Spanish capital "has treated twelve people in this incident", two of whom "died", said one of its officials, Montse Marcos, to journalists.
Among the ten injured in the fire in this Italian restaurant located in a neighborhood in the west of the Spanish capital, six "have been transferred in serious condition to different hospitals in Madrid", while the other four are more slightly affected, said Montse Marcos.
According to witnesses quoted by the daily newspaper El País, the fire broke out while a waiter was burning a dish on his plate. The fire spread quickly through the plants that decorated the establishment.
One of the waiters was about to put the finishing touches on a plate by using a flashlight to flame it. He was holding the burning plate in one hand and the flashlight in the other. He went near the plants and in a few seconds, everything burned", a customer told the newspaper.
According to the Spanish media, one of the deceased is the waiter, the other is a customer.
The firemen indicated that they were able to intervene quickly since their fire station was located at approximately 400 meters from the place of the disaster and that several people ran to warn them of the drama in progress.
An investigation by the national police has been opened following this tragedy.