A 32 year old man died last night falling from a balcony trying to escape a fire in his flat in Calle Robador in Barcelona.

The victim, a Pakistani man was on the fifth floor balcony trying to escape the flames when he fell. Apparently he was trying to reach the roof to escape the fire.

A dozen neighbours have been taken to hospital because of smoke inhalation and others were attended in the street by the emergency services. The local firemen told the nearby neighbours to abandon their homes as a prevenaitive measure while the fire was bought under control.

It is still unclear how the fire started on the second floor of number 10 of Calle Robador in El Raval but it is thought to have spread very quickly and filled the area with dense smoke. The neighbours were able to go back to their dwellings at around 01.30 except 4 members of one family due to smoke inhalation and damage caused to their property in the same block where the fire originated.