Demolition work at site of fatal Badalona warehouse fire begins

Contractors have already begun to raze the remains of the Badalona industrial unit that was devastated by flames on Wednesday night, killing at least three people.

Abandoned for over 10 years by the owners, around 150 irregular migrants are thought to have been living in the warehouse at the time the fire broke out.

Because the fire completely ravaged the building's structure, firefighters were unable to fully assess the damage, and while authorities no longer believe the death toll will increase significantly as was initially feared could be the case, the demolition is expected to help answer questions regarding the extent of the tragedy.

According to Badalona's mayor, Xavier Garcia Albiol, of the People's Party, how long this will take will depend on the judicial investigation that is being carried out as well as on "instructions from legal and fire department authorities."

A €119,000-contract was awarded to the Roig construction company on Saturday morning, prompting Albiol to state that he would "initiate judicial proceedings" if the owners of the warehouse do not pay the council back for the cost of the demolition.  

Not all survivors claim aid

"Only 44% of those who asked for aid showed up," the People's Party politician explained.

"It's a very unpleasant and worrying surprise," he said, claiming this negatively affected the council budget.

Speaking to the press on Saturday, Albiol explained that 81 people who had been occupying the warehouse asked the council for aid, but "only 36 of them ended up showing up."

When questioned as to whether this could possibly be attributed to fear of being deported as those living in the industrial unit were undocumented, the mayor said that authorities were not asking survivors about their residency status.

Once the current situation is resolved, "they will not have any preference over other Badalona residents who were already waiting for emergency housing," the politician maintained.

"Justice and dignity" march for survivors

A few hundred people participated in a march through Badalona on Saturday evening to express their support for the survivors and to call on Albiol to step down. 

Culminating in front of the local council at Plaça de la Vila, where a minute of silence was held for the victims, protesters chanted slogans in favor of "residency and a roof" for all and called the mayor a "murderer" and a "racist."

According to the demonstrators, many of the fire's survivors are now homeless while politicians "look the other way."

One of those present was Amadou, who, contrary to Albiol's assertions to the press, said the warehouse's water supply had been cut off three years ago. "If we had had running water, the fire probably wouldn't have been as bad as it was."