At least four people were killed and 20 others are missing after a massive fire ripped through a 14-story apartment building in the Spanish city of Valencia on the east coast of Spain on Thursday, emergency services said this morning. Friday, DPA reports.

Local newspaper Levante reported that 20 people were believed to be missing, although Jorge Suarez, deputy director of emergency services for the Valencia region, did not confirm this.

Suarez said firefighters have not yet been able to enter the building due to safety concerns. The structure, which is mostly burned, will first need to be cooled from the outside.

An earlier report said 14 people were injured, including six firefighters.

The fire started in an apartment on the fourth floor of the 15-story building, the construction of which was completed several years ago, and which quickly spread throughout the building.

Experts explained to the Spanish press that the fire quickly spread to the facade made of flammable materials, partly due to strong winds.

The disaster in Valencia is reminiscent of the tragedy in Grenfell, London, in June 2017, when 72 people died in a fire that broke out in a high-rise building located in the Kensington area of ​​West London. The fire broke out on the lower floors and quickly spread to the insulation of the facade of this block of social housing in London. At first, firefighters advised people to stay in the burning structure and wait for help. For many of them, their own apartments have become a death trap.