Written by Mark LoewenBBC News, Valencia
BBCA fire broke out in a 14-story apartment building in the Spanish city of Valencia on Thursday, killing 10 people. The BBC's Mark Loewen spoke to the last couple rescued from hell.
“When we jumped from our apartment onto the balcony and saw the flames engulfing us, that was the moment we thought we were going to die,” says Sara Jorge.
“But I said to my boyfriend, 'I refuse to die.' The circumstances around us were telling us it was going to happen – but we didn't want it to happen. I knew that was not our time,” she added.
The 26-year-old from Portugal and her Belgian boyfriend are the couple featured in a dramatic rescue video from a fire in Valencia on Thursday, as they are pulled to safety by firefighters as flames rage around them, as onlookers watch. applauded what seemed like a miracle.
I spoke with an international journalist at the hotel I was traveling to for my first interview.
Sarah and her boyfriend were working in their apartment in a coastal city in Spain when they started hearing sirens. A fire broke out in the 14-story building next door.
Within minutes it engulfed the tower. Their plots were connected by a bridge, but the fire quickly spread to the eight-story building where they lived.
“At first I thought it was minimal because I couldn't see any smoke,” she recalls. “When we opened the door, a neighbor said we should go to the street. So we gathered a few things, but when we tried to go out, we saw someone who lived across the street. Two girls told me that everything seemed to be under control and that we should stay home.''So we went back inside, which was a very stupid thing to do.Soon after, we started seeing smoke.'' I did.”
By the time they decided to leave, the building was engulfed in fire and they could not get out of the hallway.
The wind, which was blowing at about 60 km/h (40 mph), changed direction and fanned the flames towards that part of the building. So they jumped onto a side balcony.
“We refused hugs because it was a sign of resignation,” she says. “We just kissed each other a little bit and then I started to see firefighters coming towards us.”
The couple expected the first firefighters to begin the rescue, but firefighters were already preparing the scene, dousing the scene with water so a second team could get there.
Sarah remembers repeatedly shouting “come and help me” during the chaos. For more than an hour, they waited on the balcony and were able to break the glass and climb out. Finally, another firefighter reached them with a crane.
They were the last couple to be saved from the remains of the burning tower. It is currently known that 10 people died in the fire.
“When we got to the ground, it was the first time I realized that everyone was watching us come down. Then I saw the video,” she says. “That's when we realized how lucky we were.”
After two days, Sarah said she was numb and still unable to express her emotions. But when she saw the couple from the apartment next door, she burst into tears as they hugged each other. Manuel Diaz said his girlfriend, who was in the house when the fire broke out, is in shock.
“I feel like we're in a spiritual battle,” he says, “because we've lost everything – but we're alive, and that's what matters most. ”
An investigation has been launched into the fire, which started in an apartment in one of the large towers and quickly spread. The cladding material used on the facades was suspected to be a key factor, and was banned in 2019 due to its flammability, but reports say it was not subsequently removed from buildings that used it. There is.
Sarah told me that she knew the towers were built cheaply and had poor infrastructure due to frequent flooding. When it rains, the walls of the upper floor of the apartment flood. The repair team will repaint and move on.
“There were a lot of red flags,” she says. “But people lived there. We had comfortable apartments, so we stayed there. Now, why leave that material in the building even though it was banned? I don't understand why it was there. One day it was very windy and pieces of debris were flying around. It just flew away.”
The tower is now just a blackened shell, the life drained from it. The larger building where the fire occurred had 138 apartments and about 450 residents.
The evacuees will reportedly stay in hotels until the end of the month, after which they will be able to stay in newly constructed public housing. Residents have set up a GoFundMe fundraising page to help with funeral costs and other expenses for those who did not make it in time.
Residents gathered for a few minutes of silence in the central square outside Valencia's city hall. Some bowed their heads and wiped their tears. Afterwards, applause rang out for the firefighters and some of the families involved in the tragedy.
Sarah said she has not been able to contact firefighters since the fire. Once safely down the mountain, they hugged their rescuers and were immediately taken to a medical tent and then to a hospital for tests.
“When we were on the balcony, we could see the firefighters looking straight at us. It was trust. We felt like they couldn't leave us there. We owe them a lot of gratitude.” I don't have the words to express it. I'm grateful to them.'' They didn't have to risk their lives, but they chose to, and they are the only reason we are alive. . ”
She held back tears. “We feel very lucky. It's a strange mixture of luck and the desire to live. Maybe only tomorrow will we know how we really feel.”
