Hotel fire in Barcelona injures 9; some must jump to safety

In Catalonia, nightlife venues were set to open at midnight Friday, while on Saturday, a fire in a Barcelona hotel, according to emergency services, injured 9 people including one in critical condition. (AFP)

• Spanish emergency services said the fire injured nine people, including one in critical condition

BARCELONA: A fire in a Barcelona hotel on Saturday forced at least one person to leap to safety out of a third-floor window. Spanish emergency services said the fire injured nine people, including one in critical condition.
Catalan television showed footage apparently shot on a mobile phone of one person jumping from a third-floor window onto mattresses that had been piled on the sidewalk to cushion the impact. Local media reported that at least one more person also had to leap out to escape the blaze.
Black smoke poured from a window in the hotel, which is located in the central neighorhood of Poble Sec.
Emergency services spokeswoman Zulma Itza said besides the one man who is in critical condition, two other people are in serious condition.
Police are investigating the cause of the fire.