At least 11 people have been killed in a fire in a nightclub in Murcia in southeast Spain, the police said, adding that rescuers were still searching for people unaccounted for after the blaze and that the death toll could rise.

The fire broke out in the early hours of Sunday in Teatre nightclub in Atalayas, on the outskirts of the city, emergency services said on social media platform X, formerly Twitter.

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Outside the club, young people hugged, looking shocked as they waited for information about those missing.

"I've got five family members inside, I don't know where they are. And two friends," said a man, who did not give his name. 

'We're devastated'

Murcia's Mayor Jose Ballesta declared three days of mourning for those who have died. Flags were lowered to half mast outside Murcia's City Hall.

Footage released by Murcia's fire service showed firefighters working to control flames inside the nightclub. The fire had destroyed part of the roof, the footage showed. 

"We are devastated," Ballesta said on Spanish TV channel 24h, adding rescuers were still searching for several people reported missing.

Rescuers said they were first alerted at around 6:00 am local time (0400 GMT) that a fire had broken out in the two-storey nightclub. They finally managed to enter around 0800 GMT.

Photos released by emergency services showed water hoses from fire trucks still spraying the blackened facade of the club.

A police spokesperson said that a birthday party was being held at the club on Saturday night, and warned that not all the attendees had yet been found.

"According to initial information, the fire broke out on the first floor of the nightclub, which has a ground floor and a first floor," Diego Seral, the national police spokesman told radio Onda Regional de Murcia.

Video footage released by the city's firefighting brigade shows the firefighters holding a long hose approaching bright orange flames inside the venue, walking between bar tables that still have drinks placed on top of them.

"Emergency services are still hard at work to put out the fire that occurred in the Teatre nightclub," the city's town hall said, adding it "deeply regrets" the accident and offering condolences to those affected.

Four others were injured in the blaze, two women aged 22 and 25 years old and two men in their 40s, all suffering from smoke inhalation.

Ballesta said emergency services were working to establish the cause of the blaze.

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