Five die in fire at old people's home in Spain

MADRID, Mar 28 (Reuters) Five people died when a fire ripped through a home for the old and mentally ill near the Spanish city of Valencia today, a government spokesman said.

The head of social services for the Valencian Government, Alicia de Miguel, said a fire started in the hospital area of the San Lorenzo home before workers raised the alarm.

De Miguel said the government would investigate how the fire started at the privately-owned home in the village of Massamagrell, which housed 120 people.

''We are going to open an investigation, above and beyond the judicial probe, to see what happened,'' said de Miguel. ''I've been told that the situation here was good, it had passed the inspections. We are going to get to the bottom of this.'' Four men and one women aged between 30 and 80 died.

REUTERS PDS RN0310