Fire breaks out in popular Vélez-Málaga sushi restaurant

A major fire that broke out on Friday 17 July at a restaurant in Vélez-Málaga on the eastern Costa del Sol has led to the precautionary evacuation of around twenty local residents. The fire started at around 10am at the Sushi One Asiático restaurant, located on Calle Aceitunos, near Avenida de Las Naciones.

The fire was partially brought under control shortly after 11a am, although the emergency services continue to work in the area to inspect the building and prevent the fire from reigniting. A huge column of black smoke could be seen from various points across the town centre.

The restaurant occupies the ground floor of a five-storey residential building. The proximity of the fire to the flats and the heavy build-up of smoke led the emergency services to order the temporary evacuation of residents whilst fire-fighting operations were underway.

SUR has confirmed that the restaurant was closed to the public when the fire broke out. The flames have spread throughout virtually the entire interior of the premises and caused significant damage to property, although no injuries have been reported and no one has been seriously affected by smoke inhalation.

Several crews from the Vélez-Málaga fire station, Local Police officers and medical staff have been deployed to the area. The police have cordoned off the access points and facilitated the evacuation of the building while firefighters tackled the blaze from both outside and inside the premises.

The cause of the fire has not yet been disclosed and will need to be determined through the relevant investigation. Initial speculation suggests it may have been caused by a problem with the restaurant’s machinery or electrical system. At present, there is no official information linking the restaurant fire to the numerous other incidents recently recorded in various parts of the municipality.

This latest incident comes just a week after two simultaneous fires threatened Vélez-Málaga. The first broke out near the A-7 motorway and the Prado del Rey fairground next to El Ingenio shopping centre while the second affected the areas around La Gloria, the San Sebastián stream and La Fortaleza on Thursday 9 July.

The fire near the motorway affected around four hectares of reed beds and scrubland and required the deployment of more than a hundred firefighters. Eleven families were evacuated as a precautionary measure as the flames approached several homes near La Fortaleza. Neither of these two fires resulted in any personal injury.

Over the following days, around a dozen fires and attempted arson incidents were recorded in the municipality. On Monday 13 July the Local Police arrested a 56-year-old man accused of attempting to set fire to the sun loungers at the La Sirena beach bar in Torre del Mar and is being investigated for any connection to the other incidents.

The town hall has stepped up preventive surveillance and is continuing to urge members of the public to report any suspicious behaviour immediately.