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Date Published: 03/10/2023

All missing persons have now been found after Murcia nightclub fire

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The nightclub owners insist they were never ordered to close down

All missing persons have now been found after Murcia nightclub fire

The last person missing after the fire in the Murcia nightclub on Sunday morning has been located safe and sound. As such, the official number of the deceased remains at 13.

The fire ripped through the Teatre and Fonda Milagros nightclubs in Murcia capital city at around 6am on Sunday October 1, trapping people inside and leaving several injured due to smoke inhalation.

It was later asserted by the City Council that the Teatre nightclub where the fire had originated was operating without a valid licence and had in fact been ordered to shut down in 2022.

Now, the owners of both nightclubs have come forward to counter that all their documentation was in order.

The owner of the Fonda, Juan Esteban Ramirez, said that at no point had he been notified of a “cessation of activity” on the premises, despite the authorities saying it had a closure order since January 2022.

“I was never told that we should have a cessation of activity, a closure, because if the authorities or the owner (of the premises) tell you that you must close, it is illogical that you can continue to open,” he said in an interview with Colombian radio station Blu Radio.

He continued that was “illogical that the relevant authorities allow a venue that supposedly does not have a licence to continue opening it for a year and a half.”

This echoes the doubts many have about the explanation by the Murcia City Council authorities, that they would knowingly allow a premises to remain open for more than a year if it had been ordered to close.

Now, though, the operating licence that the Fonda Milagros had has reportedly been “burnt” as it was inside the premises at the time of the fire.

Less than a year ago, the Murcia authorities apparently sent inspectors to the Fonda Milagros and demanded that they make two modifications, including installing two fire doors were missing and removing a flammable object. There was also a modification in terms of soundproofing. All the requested work was carried out, say representatives of the Fonda.

The spokesperson for the Teatre club also insists that their municipal licence to operate was in order, although she could not produce the physical document.

Read also: How did the Murcia nightclub fire start?

Image: José Ballesta

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