Fire Ravages Posh Spain Hotel, Leaves One Dead, 10 Injured

One person is dead and at least 10 people were injured after a fire ravaged a popular boutique hotel in Marbella, Spain.

Guests and staff of the posh Sisu Boutique Hotel panicked as fire and smoke engulfed the building around 6:15 a.m. Friday. The blaze was so intense that it rose to the sky and can be seen for miles when firefighters and emergency response teams scrambled to the scene.

Witnesses told the Daily Mail that they saw a “great ball of fire” while there were those who claimed that they heard a huge explosion. People were seen “jumping off balconies” in an attempt to escape the inferno.

Video footage showed firefighters dousing the wooden facade with water to cool it off as occupants of the hotel were forced to climb down from the building. One witness said people told fire crews that they were going to jump, while those who can be seen climbing down were told to hold on longer so that they can be brought down with ladders, reported The Sun.

Security councilor Jose Eduardo Diaz said around 100 guests were staying at the hotel, a known destination among international tourists, football players and celebrities including TOWIE stars Lauren Pope, Georgia Kousoulou and Tommy Mallet, among others.

“The exterior latticework of the hotel, made of wood, has allowed customers to go down the facade by their own means,” said Diaz, adding that it was a “miracle” that people survived the incident.

The lone fatality was said to have died while escaping the fire by climbing down the side of the hotel, but The Sun relayed a statement from an unknown source that the victim had been found dead in his room by firefighters after they managed to put out the fire.

Those injured suffered either smoke inhalation or had been hit by “exploding objects due to the heat.” Several fire crews were also reported to have been hurt while trying to contain the blaze.

More than 100 people have been evacuated, including those living in an adjacent building on Rio Volga Street.

The cause of the fire is not yet clear and remains to be under investigation.

Marabella mayor Angeles Muñoz thanked the swift action of firefighters and police officers who quickly responded and battled the inferno.

“Their professionalism has prevented the spread to neighboring developments,” said Muñoz in a tweet, according to Daily Mail.