At least 8 killed in building fire in northern Portugal

LISBON - A fire at a two-story building in northern Portugal killed at least eight people Saturday night and injured more than 50 others, local media reported.

The fire occurred at around 9 pm local time (2100 GMT) after a heating-boiler in the building exploded.

At the time of the blast, a dinner party was ongoing in the building, located in Vila Nova da Rainha, a town 250 km north to the capital city of Lisbon.

The National Civil Protection Authority sent 148 firefighters and 67 vehicles to the scene and the blaze was extinguished within an hour.

Some of the injured, suffering from serious burns, were taken to nearby hospitals by rescue helicopters.

The incident is the latest in a series of fire-related tragedies in Portugal. In 2017, more than 100 people died in forest fires.