The incident occurred on Wednesday night at number 25 of Ollerías Altas street in Bilbao, where the couple resided in an occupied storage unit. According to initial investigations, following a heated argument, the man locked himself inside the premises, lowering the half-height blind. The woman then threw an incendiary object through a hole in the door, immediately igniting a large fire.
Neighbors, including Iratxe and her father, heard the man's desperate cries for help. Several residents rushed to the street, and seeing the severity of the situation, some attempted to fight the fire. Notably, one neighbor broke the glass of the door with a metal tool, allowing the victim to breathe and gaining crucial time until the arrival of the Fire Department, Municipal Police, Ertzaintza, and medical services.
The man was burning alive. We saved him.
Upon arrival, personnel from the Bilbao Fire Department, Municipal Police, Ertzaintza, and medical services found the man unconscious. Firefighters administered an oxygen mask, a decision that, according to medical sources, likely saved his life. He was then transported in very serious condition by an Osakidetza medicalized ambulance to Basurto Hospital, where he remains admitted to the Resuscitation Unit.
The neighbor who broke the glass also required treatment for smoke inhalation and was evacuated by a Basic Life Support ambulance to the same hospital, though his condition was not serious. The Municipal Police arrested the suspect for attempted homicide, and the Ertzaintza has opened an investigation to clarify the circumstances of the event.
This incident recalls similar events in the area. On September 24, 2018, on the same Ollerías Altas street, a woman named Maguette was murdered by her husband. Similarly, on April 30, 2021, in the nearby Atxuri neighborhood, a man attempted to burn his partner in a storage unit, for which he was sentenced to 21 years in prison for attempted murder.
