Up In Smoke As Luxury Cars Burn In Marbella

AT around 3.30am on the morning of Sunday September 24, emergency services 112 received several alerts that cars in a private parking area in Calle Rio Danubio in Nueva Andalucia, a suburb of Marbella, were on fire.

By the time that the Marbella fire brigade and Local Police arrived, it was too late to save any of the vehicles but it was possible to contain the blaze so it did not spread to nearby buildings.

A total of 14 vehicles, the majority of which may be considered luxury models were destroyed or damaged and it appears from first reports that all bore Lithuanian number plates and may have been available for private hire.

Investigation under way

Sources from the Fire Fighting and Rescue Service have reported that an investigation will be undertaken in order to discover why the blaze started, as it could be the result of arson, a design fault or electrical system failure.

Many car fires are also started by fuel leaks onto a hot engine but considering the fact that fire broke out at such a late time, it seems unlikely that this would be the reason.

In addition to the official investigation, it is more than likely that if all of the vehicles were insured with the same company, there will be an additional investigation as the total value of the destroyed vehicles is likely to run well into six figures.

Wealthy foreign visitors

Marbella has seen a large number of wealthy foreign tourists arriving from Eastern Europe as well as the Middle East and there has been a boom in the renting of luxury cars which are seen in places such as Puerto Banus and outside expensive hotels, clubs and restaurants.

In many cases, the cars being driven have been registered outside of Spain and possibly return to their country of origin when the summer season finishes.

Happily, no-one was reported injured and apart from the vehicles and part of the surrounding wall, no damage occurred to neighbouring properties.