Fire at Malaga's Ibis hotel flares up again, with the entire building now affected

After the flames had been brought under control this Monday afternoon, the fire flared up again, burning the entire building.

Sources told SUR, however, that it is a controlled manoeuvre by the firefighters, who are working to "ventilate the fire". From the outside, the building is 'watered' and the action of the water and oxygen causes the flames to break out again.

From the outside, it looks as if the fire that burnt down the Le Grand Café and the Ibis Centro hotel has come back to life. However, sources consulted by SUR insist that the fire is under control.

The fire originated in Le Grand Café, located in Pasillo de Guimbarda, and spread to the Ibis hotel, above it. The first hypothesis is that the fire originated in the kitchen of the bar, ruling out another hypothesis that the origin of the fire was in the awnings of the outdoor terrace.

The Policía Científica are waiting for the fire brigade to extinguish the fire in order to start the investigation work and determine with certainty the origin of a fire that has caused great destruction, but in which, fortunately, no one has been injured.

The scale of the fire forced the evacuation of all the people in the hotel. According to the sources consulted, a total of 130 rooms were occupied at the time of the fire. As a precautionary measure, local police officers closed off traffic in Calle Cerrojo and all pedestrian accesses around the building.

The fire, which started at 1am, spread very quickly. The building's wrought iron and wooden structures made it difficult to locate the source of the fire and extinguish the flames, which spread, helped by the material added for soundproofing the building.

On Monday evening amoke was still visible from different parts of the city. The fire has also become a magnet for the curious onlookers. In front of the Santo Domingo bridge, many people gathered to watch and record with mobile phones the work to extinguish the fire.