5 injured and 22 evacuated in Los Cristianos fire
A building in Los Cristianos woke to chaos in the early hours of this morning (Tuesday) as a fire ripped through the upper floor of a building used by squatters, leaving firefighters to carry out an evacuation that left 22 people forced out of their homes and five injured.
The fire erupted just before 5 am inside the fifth floor of the building on Calle El Coronel, in one of the busiest parts of the resort and only metres from the beach. Witnesses reported that flames spread rapidly through a room believed to be illegally occupied, filling the upper floors with thick smoke.
Emergency calls flooded the 112 Canary Islands Control Centre with several residents trapped on an exposed rooftop terrace as smoke engulfed the stairwell. Firefighters were forced to raise a ladder truck to reach them, carrying out a high-risk rescue in the dark as the blaze continued to burn below.
Among the injured were three women aged 86, 71 and 35, and a 40-year-old man, all suffering from smoke inhalation. The 86-year-old woman was reported to be the most seriously affected and was rushed to the University Hospital Nuestra Señora de Candelaria. The others were treated at Hospiten Sur.
Seven units from Tenerife Fire Brigade battled the flames, including crews from the professional stations in Tejina de Isora and San Miguel, supported by volunteer firefighters from Adeje.
Once the fire was extinguished, firefighters ventilated the building and assessed the damage. The cause of the fire is now under investigation.
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