The owner of La Fonda Milagros has stressed that it is “illogical for the authorities to allow a place that supposedly does not have a license to continue opening for a year and a half.”
Juan Esteban Ramirezowner of La Fonda Milagros, one of the clubs in Murcia where 13 people died in a fire this Sunday, said this Monday that They never notified him of the “cessation of activity” of the premisesdespite the fact that the authorities said that it had a closure order from January 2022.
“It was never conveyed to me that we should have a cessation of activity, a closure, because if the authorities or the owner (of the premises) tell you that you must close, it is illogical that you can continue opening“said Ramírez in an interview with the Colombian station Blu Radio.
Likewise, he stressed that it is “illogical for the relevant authorities to allow a premises that supposedly does not have a license to continue, opening it a year and a half“.
The fire started in the early hours of Sunday in one of the premises of the Atalayas complex, a popular area of Murcia where dozens of discotheques, fast food establishments and nightclubs share space, without it being known at the moment how it occurred.
The municipal authorities confirmed this Monday the number of thirteen deceased, as the five people who were missing were located in good condition, who contacted their relatives in the last few hours. Furthermore, no new bodies have been found in the damaged area once the firefighters had full access to it.
“ANDThe issue of the origin (of the fire) is still unknown, we are waiting for the judicial reportthey are already taking care of that, we are collaborating with absolutely everything to clarify this,” said Ramírez.
Details of the tragedy
The owner of the Fonda Milagros estimates that when the fire started, between 5:50 and 6:00 on Sunday morning, there were about 150 people inside the premises. “At that time there were not so many people, in fact people were already leaving (…) and We were able to evacuate as many people as possible,” he said..
Ramírez also said that “the fire was coming with such force that The normal light went off and the emergency light went on.which only lasted forty seconds.”
“We were left completely dark in the nightclub, which is why most of the missing and deceased people did not manage to leave (…) I begin to evacuate the people, following the evacuation protocol that they require of us. What happens is that It was very fast“, he expressed.
Ramírez explained that, once the fire was detected, he began “to evacuate people, the music was cut off and people who were panicking were helped to leave, because a large percentage of people react very badly to a tragedy like this.” “.
“When the power went out I was at the bottom (of the establishment, which is two floors) and obviously I know the club almost by heart, so I managed to get out but if I stayed 30 seconds longer it was almost impossible to get out because it was completely dark “he added.