Owner of Benalmádena's pioneering Hotel Alay dies in a road traffic accident in Madrid

Sources said that the car swerved off the road and rolled several times, killing Tellez and the director instantly. The emergency services arrived on the scene and had to cut the victims from the wreckage due to the severity of the damage.

A third passenger in the vehicle, the wife of Tellez, was transferred by helicopter to the Hospital de La Paz. Although her injuries were thought to be life-threatening, the sources confirmed that she is recovering after treatment and is now out of danger.

The Hotel Alay is one of the most important in the history of the Costa del Sol. Opened in 1964 by the Aguirre family - a pioneer in the tourist development of the Costa del Sol - the hotel was one of the first on the Malaga coast to specialise in convention and congress tourism.

After more than half a century as a benchmark in the Malaga tourism sector, the hotel changed hands in 2015. At first, Tellez transferred the management of the establishment to the Ibersol chain; however, three years later, he decided to take over the management of the hotel himself.