The heartbreaking moment a cat left for dead in the devastating Valencia fire that killed 10 people is reunited with its owner after surviving eight days in the shell of a burned tower

A cat left for dead by its owner after the devastating fire in Valencia has been rescued alive by firefighters after eight days locked in the building.

Andrea Rubio broke down in tears yesterday as she hugged her beloved pet Coco for the first time since the Feb. 22 fire after she was seen two floors above her 11th-floor apartment, smelling like smoke but otherwise alive and well. .

Mystery still surrounds Coco’s survival from the tragedy that killed 10 people and claimed the lives of around 100 more pets.

He will spend this night with Andrea and her partner Javier Fernández in temporary emergency accommodation provided by the City Council after a routine check-up by a veterinarian.

Firefighters released photos of Coco inside a fire hydrant niche where the crafty cat is believed to have taken refuge.

His owner had asked them to recover his body if they found it while recovering documentation and other belongings from destroyed apartments.

A spokesman for Valencia City Council firefighters still working at the 14-storey residential complex that caught fire in the affluent El Campaner neighborhood said: “We were recovering belongings and documentation from the apartments when we rescued the cat. It was in a dry niche.

“We have handed it over to its owners with great satisfaction.”

A local police spokesperson added: “We can confirm that a cat lost in the El Campaner fire has been recovered more than a week after the tragedy.”

Andrea, pictured taking her cat out of a small travel bag and giving it water as she cried, was outside when the fire started and her mother, who was watching television, learned that her house had burned down.

A spokesman for an animal adoption association in Valencia said this morning: “Coco’s family lived on the eleventh floor and had asked the firefighters to look for him in case they found his body.”

‘They were informed that the animal was not on the property but the surprise came when they arrived at the 13th floor and found Coco waiting for her family.

“We don’t know how you managed to save your life Coco, but you are a champion and we are very happy.”

Last weekend it emerged that almost 100 pets had died in the Valencia fire, as well as 10 people, including a family of four made up of the parents of a newborn baby and a three-year-old boy.

Among the animals that died was the dog of a Ukrainian woman named Elisa, who went to run errands with her partner and was unable to return home after the fire started.

An elderly couple who lived in one of the 138 apartments destroyed by the fire died along with their dog.

The speed with which the fire spread has been blamed on the cladding of the apartment blocks, which meant victims were unable to reach safety in time.

An investigation is underway into the fire, which started in a vacant eighth-floor apartment, but has since been linked to a probable electrical fault.