The death toll from a devastating fire that tore through a 14-storey block of flats in Valencia in eastern Spain has risen to 10, local authorities have said, as firefighters continue to search for as many as 15 people reported missing, Paralel.Az reports citing The Guardian.

“In a first inspection we can confirm that the scientific police have located 10 fatalities,” Pilar Bernabé, the Spanish government’s representative in the Mediterranean port city, told Spanish media on Friday.

Four of the victims were members of the same family, including a father and mother, a three-year-old girl and a newborn baby, authorities said, adding that firefighters wearing masks and breathing apparatus were still working their way up the floors of the charred building.

Experts said the block was covered with highly flammable cladding, possibly – along with high winds – accounting for the rapid spread of the fire, which broke out on the fourth floor at 5.30pm on Thursday and engulfed the building within 30 minutes.

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At least four people were killed and 14 more were injured after a fire tore through a block of apartments in Valencia, Spain, on Thursday, Paralel.Az reports citing Deutsche Welle.

Among the injured were a minor and six firefighters. 12 of them were transferred to hospitals, according to emergency services. The death toll could rise, with 19 people missing, a source on the city council said. Residents could be seen trapped on their balconies, waiting to be rescued.

The fire broke out on the fourth floor and spread rapidly through the building, a first responder said. Authorities said 22 firefighting units and five ambulances responded to the incident, while local media reported that a field hospital was also set up at the scene.