Elderly couple dies in fire in seaside town of Vilassar de Mar
Incident is second deadly blaze in Catalonia in less than a week
A 75-year-old woman and 77-year-old man died on Monday morning in the seaside town of Vilassar de Mar, between Mataró and Barcelona, when a fire broke out in their apartment.
Neighbors reported hearing "two or three significant explosions" around 7 am, mayor Damià del Clot said, adding that the building had "no structural damage" preventing the 40 people who had been evacuated from returning to their homes.
Dues persones han perdut la vida en l'incendi del seu habitatge a Vilassar de Mar@mossos @semgencathttps://t.co/kQ3eg92XtP
— Bombers (@bomberscat) December 6, 2021
— rogertorne (@rogertorne) December 6, 2021
Firefighters and police are still investigating what caused the fire, but del Clot has stated that he does not believe it to be a case of energy poverty. One of the deceased is known to have had respiratory issues and to have required supplemental oxygen, which could possibly be what the building's residents could have heard explode.
This is the second deadly blaze in Catalonia in under a week. On November 30, an impoverished family of four, including two young children, died in Barcelona after a fire broke out in the former bank office they had been occupying in Plaça Tetuan square with four other vulnerable people.