Walter Finch
A family has been ripped apart by a devastating fire that tore through a Fuengirola apartment block on Monday, killing a father and son.
Two more family members are fighting for their lives in the ICU, while a further three people are in a critical but stable condition at the Costa del Sol Hospital in Marbella.
Initial reports indicated several people had been injured due to smoke inhalation and burns, some of whom were treated on the scene and at least three were transported to a hospital.
The father, 67, and son, 42, are believed to have died from smoke inhalation after being trapped by the rising flames, which are believed to have started on the fifth floor and spread upwards.
It is believed that the fire started in the flat of a man who suffered from Diogenes syndrome, in which he compulsively hoarded items.
Residents of the building were evacuated as firefighters struggled to put out the flames on the upper floors of the building, only succeeding after several hours.
Fuengirola town hall has declared three days of mourning starting from Tuesday following the tragedy.
Emergency services started receiving multiple calls of a fire on the terrace of an apartment on Miramar Avenue in Fuengirola around 1.15pm.
Eyewitnesses reported a large column of smoke rising from the fifth floor of the building on Avenida Miramar, which was visible from various parts of the town.
Fuengirola Fire Chief, José Julián Bueno, the inferno was fully developed when the first responders arrived.
“It was almost impossible to access the fourth floor due to the high temperatures,” he said, as the flames had already consumed the sixth floor inside and outside the building.
Emergency services, including firefighters from Mijas, Fuengirola, and Benalmádena, as well as police from the National Police, Local Police, Civil Guard and the emergency medical services were dispatched to the scene.
Local Police have also confirmed that several people have been affected by smoke inhalation.
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