Cladding blamed for rapid spread of fire that destroyed tower block in Milan

FIREFIGHTERS worked through the night to extinguish a blaze that destroyed a 20-storey apartment building in Milan, but said there was no indication anyone was missing inside.

Some cases of smoke inhalation were reported from Sunday’s blaze, but no serious injuries or deaths. The fire was reported by a 15th floor resident, who sounded the alarm as he descended the building.

Residents included Italian rapper Mahmood, who was the 2019 winner of the San Remo music festival.

Residents said the blaze quickly spread through the cladding on the facade, which was supposed to have been fire-resistant, the Corriere della Sera newspaper reported.

Carlo Sibia, an Interior Ministry official in Rome, said: “The cause of the fire still needs to be determined, but it seems that the rapid spread of the flames was due to the thermal covering of the building.”

Mayor Giuseppe Sala, who visited the scene, said he saw firefighters’ hands burned from battling the blaze.

Firefighters broke into apartments in search of anyone left inside and followed up by telephoning residents who remained unaccounted for. “There is no evidence of anyone missing,” said commander Felice Iraca.

As firefighters were continuing searches and verifying damage to the structure, prosecutors were also investigating for any indication of wrongdoing.

The 200ft (60m) building, part of a 2012 project, was designed to look like a ship’s keel and included an aluminium sail on its roof, which burned and fell to the street.