The fire broke out in the early hours of today in Teatre nightclub in Atalayas, on the outskirts of the city, emergency services said on social media platform X.

Footage released on the X account of Murcia’s fire service showed firefighters working to control flames inside the nightclub.

The fire had destroyed part of the roof, the footage showed.

“The number of deaths inside the Atalayas nightclub has risen to seven,” Murcia mayor Jose Ballesta wrote on X.

“We are devastated,” he said on Spanish TV channel 24h, adding rescuers were still searching for several people reported missing.

Ballesta told 24h the fire started at around 6am and had now been brought under control.

He said emergency services were working to establish the cause of the blaze.

Four people have been treated in hospital for smoke inhalation.