Autopsy reveals that Álvaro died from electrocution at ten in the morning on the day of his disappearance

Police have said that the missing footballer Álvaro Prieto was electrocuted to death in Seville when, for unknown reasons, he climbed onto the roof of a broken down train at a railway workshops and accidentally touched the overhead line or pantograph that carries the 3,500-volt current to the train. Álvaro's lifeless body was spotted by a camera crew lodged between two moving train carriages on Monday during a live broadcast on a Spanish television programme, which the broadcaster later apologised for.

According to sources, the official autopsy has revealed that the young man died from electrocution at 10am last Thursday morning, the same day that he was reported missing. Security cameras at Cepsa Store-1 fuel station recorded the incident and showed that Álvaro's lifeless body, after being struck by the discharge, remained on the roof of the train. It did not fall through the narrow gap between the two carriages where he was finally found on Monday until the out-of-service train unit was moved to make way for another.

Police are still working to establish why the young man had climbed onto the roof of a stationary train that was so far away from the platforms at Santa Justa train station in Seville.

The teenage football player for the Cordoba youth team had been reported missing since last Thursday 12 October after he was last seen near the Santa Justa train station in Seville.

The teenager had spent a night out with his friends last Wednesday at the Theatre nightclub, about 3.5km from Santa Justa station. After the night out he walked to the station but missed the 7.35am train he had an electronic ticket on his phone for. He tried to catch another train at 8.55am from Seville to Barcelona with a stop in Córdoba, but was refused entry onto the train. Apparently, his mobile phone had run out of battery power and he could neither show his train ticket nor access a bank account to pay for a new one. He also reportedly did not have a phone charger or cash on him.

According to sources close to the case, although at first Álvaro was asked to leave the station, he re-entered after sneaking through a gap in the wire fence and crossed the tracks with the intention of getting on the next train that could take him home. Security guards intercepted him and ejected him from Santa Justa station.

Álvaro Prieto left the area at about 9.30am and was captured on CCTV at the station's east gate. After a National Police appeal, four key witnesses came forward who had seen Álvaro at the Santa Justa station and who agreed that, although his intention was to get on the train, he was respectful towards the Renfe staff at all times.

The young man was an engineering student and played in the Córdoba CF youth team. The Investigative Court handling the case had ordered secrecy and police have confirmed that "they are keeping several lines of investigation open." An autopsy of his body will be conducted.