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At least 13 killed in Spain nightclub fire

At least 13 people have died following a fire that spread to three nightclubs in Murcia, south-east Spain, in the early hours of yesterday (1 October).

The blaze, which is believed to be the country’s deadliest nightclub fire since 43 people were killed in Zaragoza in 1990, reportedly broke out in the La Fonda Milagros club in the Atalayas area at around 6am, before engulfing the neighbouring Teatre and Golden.

According to the BBC, it is not yet clear what caused the fire, but it is understood to have broken out on the first floor of La Fonda.

The Guardian reports that Murcia city council says that it appears that the Teatre and La Fonda Milagros nightclubs had been operating without a licence since January last year after planning concerns were raised about the decision to split the original Teatre club into two venues.

“We’re talking about an unprecedented tragedy and we will determine responsibility for what happened whatever the cost”

Murcia’s councillor for urban planning Antonio Navarro, said the clubs had been ordered to close in October 2022, and said the council would be taking legal action against the company that owns them.

“We will find out who bears responsibility for what has happened,” Navarro told today’s press conference. “We will be taking action against the Teatre company for failing to comply with the orders to cease [their activities]. We’re talking about an unprecedented tragedy and we will determine responsibility for what happened whatever the cost.”

The victims included Spanish, Colombian, Nicaraguan and Ecuadorian nationals. In addition, 24 people were injured, with four treated in hospital for smoke inhalation, while five others who were unaccounted for and feared dead having now been located.

“La Fonda wishes to express its condolences to the relatives of the fatal victims of the fire… and to convey all our support to the people injured in this tragic incident,” says a social media post from the venue. “We are collaborating with the authorities, in whom we fully trust for the clarification of the facts… until the investigation that determines the real cause of what happened is completed.”

 


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Ownership dispute over postponed SOS 4.8

Legal Music, promoter of Spanish festival SOS 4.8, has accused the Murcian government of illegally laying claim to the event, of which it is says it is “sole and rightful owner”.

The two parties have been at loggerheads since just before Christmas, when Legal Music announced the 2017 edition of SOS 4.8 would not go ahead following the withdrawal of funding from the Autonomous Community of Murcia (Comunidad Autónoma de la Región de Murcia, Carm), which the promoter accused of violating its sponsorship agreement with the festival.

Carm – which, it emerged, had trademarked the SOS 4.8 name in 2008 without informing Legal Music – responded by saying the festival would go ahead with or without Legal Music’s participation. Murcia will “not yield to any kind of threats” of cancellation from Legal Music, said a spokeswoman for the region, adding that the autonomous community is “the sponsor of SOS 4.8 and the owner of the brand”.

In a statement released this morning, Legal Music says the “attitude of the Ministry [of Culture of Murcia] is irrational and is jeopardising the viability and quality of an internationally successful festival”.

“The attitude of the ministry is jeopardising the viability and quality of an internationally successful festival”

“We want to remember and insist that LegalMusic is the sole and rightful owner of SOS 4.8, and the festival is the main asset of this company,” it says. “Therefore, no one can stage this event without Legal Music.”

SOS 4.8 has grown consistently since its founding in 2008, with Manic Street Preachers and The Libertines headlining the 2016 event.

Legal Music, which was declared insolvent in early January, has now filed a series of lawsuits against Murcia’s Ministry of Culture and portavocía (office of the government’s spokespeople) “in order to defend not only the legitimate interests of Legal Music, but also the general interests of citizens against the arbitrariness of the government”.

Legal Music’s other festivals include Pròxims in Barcelona and Calonge, and the now-defunct Castañas y Buñuelos (‘Chestnuts and Donuts’) in Madrid.

 


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