Costa del Sol beach bar blaze arrest

NATIONAL POLICE officers have arrested a 48-year-old man in connection with a fire at a Marbella chiringuito which caused thousands of euros worth of damage.

Police launched their investigation into the fire after it broke out on Thursday April 4. The bar, on a beach in central Marbella, was gutted by the blaze and part of it was destroyed completely.

The arrest follows two separate fires at well-known Marbella chiringuitos earlier this year. The first took place at the Playa Padre bar in February.

The chiringuito, a popular haunt with celebrities including TV personality Ashley James, opened in May 2017 with an event attended by Baywatch star Pamela Anderson.

Locals told Spanish media they heard an explosion before the bar went up in flames. Photos of the aftermath of the blaze showed scorched pillars as the only remains of the venue.

The second fire occurred at the Bounty Beach bar on Marbella’s El Pinillo beach eight days later at around 1.30pm.

Footage showed firefighters working to bring the blaze under control while a column of black smoke rose into the air. The fire was brought under control around an hour after it began.

It is unclear if those two fires were as a result of criminal damage and investigation remains open to find the cause.

The spate of fires led members of the Marbella branch of the left-leaning Partido Socialista (PSOE) to call on the council to take measures against possible arson attacks.

PSOE’s Javier Porcuna said: “Marbella is a safe city, but these incidents cannot be neglected. Large numbers of tourists are about to arrive while Marbella beach bars burn.”