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FIRE

Fire ravages historic village church

A fire has gutted a historic church in the mountain village of Valens in the canton of Saint Gallen.

Fire ravages historic village church
Photo: Saint Gallen cantonal police

Residents reported the roof of the parish church of St. Philip and St. James on fire at around 11pm on Wednesday, cantonal police said on Thursday.

A total of 60 fire fighters from Bad Ragaz, Tamina and Pizol arrived to battle the blaze, police said.

Investigators were unable to provide a precise estimate of the damage to the Catholic church other than to say it was extensive.

According to witnesses, the fire was first spotted near the chimney of the building, police said.

The church is a landmark in the community of 400, located not far from the castle ruins of a former Benedictine abbey in Pfäffers.

The forensic service of the Saint Gallen cantonal police force has launched an investigation into the cause of the fire.

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FIRE

Barcelona fire kills four, including two children

A fire ripped through an abandoned bank occupied by squatters in central Barcelona on Tuesday, killing four people, including a baby and a three year-old boy, Spanish firefighters said.

Police and firefighters gather outside an abandoned building where a blaze broke out early on November 30, 2021 in Barcelona, killing four people.
Police and firefighters gather outside an abandoned building where a blaze broke out early on November 30, 2021 in Barcelona, killing four people. (Photo by Pau BARRENA / AFP)

“While we were battling the fire, we found four people. Emergency services tried to revive them but unfortunately they failed, they could not do anything to save them,” the head of the firefighting operation, Ángel López, told reporters.

Firefighters rescued four other people who were inside the building while putting out the blaze, he added.

Those four were treated for smoke inhalation.

Firefighters rushed to the scene at around 6 am after being warned that a blaze had broken out in the building, Mr Lopez said.

While Mr López said it was not clear how the four dead people were related, Barcelona-based daily newspaper La Vanguardia said they were all members of a Romanian family.

A spokesman for Catalonia’s regional police force, the Mossos d’Esquadra, said an investigation had been opened into the causes of the fire.

In December 2020, four people were killed after a blaze ripped through an industrial complex occupied by squatters, many of them African migrants, near Barcelona.

Over 100 squatters were believed to be living in precarious conditions at the abandoned complex in Badalona, a suburban town north of the city.

In addition to the four deaths, more than 20 people were injured in the blaze.

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