| Date | 1 October 2023 |
|---|---|
| Location | Fonda Milagros nightclub, Murcia, Spain |
| Coordinates | 37°59′38″N01°06′57″W / 37.99389°N 1.11583°W |
| Type | Fire |
| Deaths | 13 |
| Non-fatal injuries | 24 |
| Missing | 2 |
On 1 October 2023, a fire broke out in a building hosting at least three nightclubs [1] in Murcia, Spain, killing at least 13 people and injuring 24. [2] It was the deadliest nightclub fire in Spain since 1990. [3]
The building hosting the affected nightclubs was located in the Atalayas area of Murcia. [4] The first of these nightclubs to be established was the Teatre, which opened in 2008. The discotheque was evacuated in June 2009 after a short-circuit caused its façade to catch fire. [5]
In 2019, the owners requested city officials to approve splitting the nightclub into two separate venues, creating the Fonda Milagros nightclub, also known as La Fonda next door. Both nightclubs were ordered closed in 2022 after authorities determined that they needed separate licenses and lacked other requirements such as an approved crowd capacity limit, but both continued to operate. The two clubs were separated by walls made only of plasterboard. [6] [7]
The fire broke out in the early morning of 1 October 2023 around 06:00 CEST. It began on the first floor of the Fonda Milagros club, and then spread to the adjoining Teatre and Golden nightclubs. [4] [1] Authorities attributed the rapid spread of the fire to the air conditioning system. [8] Police stated the Fonda Milagros collapsed after suffering "substantial structural damage" from the fire. [4]
More than 40 firefighters and 12 emergency vehicles responded to the scene, with firefighters arriving at 07:00 and extinguishing the fire by 08:00, [9] after which they discovered the first fatalities inside the building. [4]
At least 13 people were killed in the fire, all of whom were found at the Fonda Milagros club, while 24 others were injured. [2] At least four of them were hospitalized for smoke inhalation. Many of the victims were attending a birthday party at the club. [4] Only three victims were identified through fingerprints, with the remaining fatalities were identified through DNA testing. [10] Two people were reported missing. [11]
The dead included nationals of Colombia, Ecuador, and Nicaragua. [12]
The Palacio de Deportes de Murcia was converted into a counselling centre for those affected [4] and an information area for relatives of the victims. [13]
Mayor José Ballesta declared three days of mourning in the city. King Felipe VI [4] and Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez expressed their condolences to the victims of the disaster and their families. [13] The local hotel-restaurant association Hoytu announced the city's bars and restaurants would remain closed for the rest of the day in a sign of respect to the victims. [9]
A minute of silence was observed in Murcia at noon on 2 October. [8] A judicial investigation into the cause of the disaster was opened on 3 October. [3]
The Station nightclub fire occurred on the evening of February 20, 2003, at The Station, a nightclub and hard rock music venue in West Warwick, Rhode Island, United States, killing 100 people and injuring 230. During a concert by the rock band Great White, a pyrotechnic display ignited flammable acoustic foam in the walls and ceilings surrounding the stage. Within six minutes, the entire building was engulfed in flames. The fire was the deadliest fireworks accident in U.S. history and the fourth-deadliest at a nightclub in U.S. history. It was also the second-deadliest nightclub fire in New England, behind the 1942 Cocoanut Grove fire.
The Stardust fire was a fatal fire which took place at the Stardust nightclub in Artane, Dublin, Ireland, in the early hours of 14 February 1981. More than 800 people were attending a disco there, of whom 48 died and 214 were injured as a result of the fire; in later years suicides of survivors and family members were also linked to the event.
The Rhythm Club fire was a fire in a dance hall in Natchez, Mississippi on the night of April 23, 1940, which killed 209 people and severely injured many others. Hundreds of people were trapped inside the building. At the time, it was the second deadliest building fire in the history of the nation. It is now ranked as the fourth deadliest assembly and club fire in U.S. history.
The Ozone Disco fire in Quezon City, Philippines, broke out at 11:35 pm Philippine Standard Time on March 18, 1996, leaving at least 162 people dead. It is officially acknowledged as the worst fire in Philippine history, and among the 10 worst nightclub fires in the world.
A nightclub is a club that is open at night, usually for drinking, dancing and other entertainment. Nightclubs often have a bar and discothèque with a dance floor, laser lighting displays, and a stage for live music or a disc jockey (DJ) who mixes recorded music. Nightclubs tend to be smaller than live music venues like theatres and stadiums, with few or no seats for customers.
The Santika Club fire was a fireworks accident and nightclub fire that occurred on Thursday 1 January 2009, in the Santika Club in Ekkamai, Watthana, Bangkok, where celebrations of Thai New Year were taking place. 67 people were killed and another 222 injured when fire swept through the club during the New Year's celebration as the band "Burn" was playing.
The Kiss nightclub fire started between 2:00 and 2:30 a.m. (BRST) on 27 January 2013 in Santa Maria, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil, killing 242 people and injuring at least 630 others. The acoustic foam in the ceiling was ignited. It was a typical indoor fireworks accident and nightclub fires. The premises having only one exit contributed to the high death toll. It is the second most deadly fire in Brazilian history, surpassed only by the Niterói circus fire of 1961.
The Colectiv nightclub fire was a fire in Bucharest, Romania, on 30 October 2015, which killed 64 people and injured 146. The nightclub fire was caused by a fireworks accident, both being the deadliest in Romanian history. It occurred during a free concert performed by the metalcore band Goodbye to Gravity to celebrate the release of their new album, Mantras of War. The band's pyrotechnics, consisting of sparkler firework candles, ignited the club's flammable polyurethane acoustic foam, and the fire spread rapidly. Most of the victims were poisoned by toxins released from the burning foam. Overwhelmed by the high number of victims, Romanian authorities transferred some of the seriously injured to hospitals in Israel, the Netherlands, Belgium, Austria, the United Kingdom, Norway, Germany and France. Mass protests over the corruption linked to the fire led to the resignation of the Prime Minister of Romania, Victor Ponta.
On June 12, 2016, 29-year-old Omar Mateen shot and killed 49 people and wounded 53 more in a mass shooting at Pulse, a gay nightclub in Orlando, Florida, United States before Orlando Police officers fatally shot him after a three-hour standoff.
The Istanbul nightclub shooting was a mass shooting incident on 1 January 2017 around 01:15 local time, in which a terrorist shot and killed 39 people and wounded 79 others at the Reina nightclub in the Ortaköy neighbourhood of Istanbul, Turkey, where hundreds had been celebrating New Year's Day. Uzbekistan-born Abdulkadir Masharipov was arrested in Istanbul on 17 January 2017. Islamic State claimed credit for his actions. The first hearing in the trial of Masharipov and 51 accused accomplices was held on 11 December 2017, and the next hearing was held on 26 March 2018.
On 9 March 2019, a mass shooting occurred in La Playa Men's Club, a nightclub in Salamanca, Guanajuato, Mexico. Fifteen people were killed, and five to seven people were injured. Fourteen victims were later identified as Jalisco New Generation Cartel members. Witnesses described the attackers as a group of armed men who arrived in three vans.
On the evening of August 27, 2019, a fire started in a nightclub in Coatzacoalcos, Veracruz, Mexico. The fire killed 31 people. It was started by what are believed to be members of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel, who blocked its exits.
On 5 August 2022 at 1:00 AM ICT, a fire broke out at Mountain B, a nightclub located on the Sukhumvit Road in Phlu Ta Luang sub-district, Sattahip District, Chonburi Province, Thailand. The fire began at 1 am ICT and caused 13 immediate deaths. Out of the 38 people injured, seven later died in hospital, bringing the total death toll to 20. In October 2022, another victim died in the hospital; she was the 25th death related to the fire.
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