A dozen people were injured in the early hours of Saturday morning, one of them seriously, in a fire at a three storey apartment block in calle Dolores Maldonado, Coria del Rio, Sevilla province.
The fire began at oo:15 on the ground floor of the block and quickly spread, blocking off exits from the building. Local residents stood on balconies and formed impromptu human chains to rescue most of the trapped people while criticising the tardiness of the Fire Brigade in appearing on the scene.
Of the twelve injured, three needed hospital treatment and one remains in a serious condition in the Virgen del Rocio Hospital in Sevilla with burns to 16% of his body.
A police investigation is under way to determine the origin of the fire.