One dead and nine injured following huge fire at luxury Spanish hotel
21 August 2020, 15:40
Massive blaze rips through resort popular near Marbella
A French tourist has died in a fire at a luxury hotel in southern Spain and nine other people were injured while trying to escape the flames, police said.
Video footage shared on social media showed people escaping the fire at the Sisu Boutique Hotel in Puerto Banus, Marbella, through windows and climbing down several storeys of the building's lattice facade.
It took more than three hours to extinguish the raging blaze, which broke out at 6am (0400 GMT), Malaga province's civil protection agency said.
A National Police spokeswoman in the province confirmed that the only victim was a Frenchman who was staying at the hotel.
Around 100 guests and employees were evacuated from the hotel as well as residents from a nearby building, authorities said.
Dramatic video coverage shows the intensity of the fire as horrified onlookers are heard saying: 'My God, people are throwing themselves down the balconies of the hotel.'
The hotel is very popular with British tourists but it is not known if any were staying at the time.
#susi hotel in Marbella #puertobanus on fire!! pic.twitter.com/WwZOuuXGDL
— Phil (@PhilipRawlings4) August 21, 2020
The cause of the fire is not currently known but a full investigation is already underway.
The mayor of Marbella, Ángeles Muñoz, thanked "the great work and quick action of the Marbella fire brigades and local police".
"Their professionalism has prevented the spread to neighbouring developments," she tweeted.
Marbella's security councillor, José Eduardo Diíaz said it was "a miracle" that people were safe.
"The exterior latticework of the hotel, made of wood, has allowed customers to go down the façade by their own means," he said.
