Hotel in British tourist hotspot rocked by explosion as dozens evacuated | World | News
After an explosion at a hotel in Costa, one person was injured and dozens of tourists were evacuated. Part of the fifth floor of the four-star Olas Hotel in the Costa Tropical resort of Almunecar, about 80 kilometers east of Malaga, was severely damaged in the explosion.
Local mayor Juan Jose Ruiz Joya said it was a “miracle” that none of the 44 affected guests were killed or injured. He said: “The most affected area at that time was empty, which prevented a bigger tragedy from happening. We should be relieved that nothing serious happened despite the very powerful explosion. The explosion caused part of the roof to collapse onto the street, but this did not cause any accidents. The damage mostly resulted in material damage.”
The incident took place at the popular holiday hotel, which was operating at 60 percent of its capacity, with more guests starting to arrive with the start of the Easter holiday.
The fire occurred while employees of the energy company Repsol were refilling the fuel tanks of the facility’s terrace boiler. The flames quickly spread upstairs, and a column of smoke rose into the sky so high it could be seen for miles.
While firefighters were fighting the fire, emergency teams evacuated the guests along with the hotel staff. The injured man was the driver of the propane gas truck and was transported to Santa Ana Hospital in nearby Motril.
Two firefighters affected by smoke were also treated.
A spokesman for the regional government-run emergency response coordination center said: “One person was injured yesterday following an explosion on the roof of a hotel in Almunecar, province of Granada. “At 1.10pm the emergency line received the first of approximately fifteen calls reporting an explosion on the roof of a five-storey hotel on a street called Avenida de Europa.
“In addition to the mobile intensive care unit and medical team, the Civil Guard, Provincial Fire Consortium and Local Police were also mobilized.
“Two volunteers from the Almunecar Local Civil Protection Group also went to the scene by car. The injured person was the person who was filling the boiler with gas in the laundry room on the fifth floor. He was injured in the head.
“The incident caused material damage to the top floor of the building and led to the precautionary evacuation of guests.”
