Barcelona, Dec 10 (AP) A fire raged through an abandoned building occupied by squatters in Badalona in northeastern Spain, injuring at least 17 people, including two in critical condition, authorities said.

Firefighters late Wednesday said they rescued around 30 people from windows as the building burned.

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Fire Chief David Borrell added that firefighters did not have time to confirm that the building was empty before the roof collapsed, making it impossible to continue the search because the fire continued. Officials predicted it would take several more hours to control the blaze, which engulfed the building.

Badalona Mayor Xavier García Albiol said the building had been occupied by over a hundred squatters. He said 60 of those people had been accounted for so far.

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Badalona, a city of about 200,000 people, is just north of Barcelona on the Mediterranean coast. (AP)

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)