Benidorm blaze causes death of elderly man

AN elderly German has died in a fire at his home in Benidorm (Alicante).

Police, firefighters and ambulance staff rushed to his home, a fourth-floor apartment on the C/ Virgen de la Merced, but were unable to save the man, who is believed to have died from smoke inhalation.

The emergency services were alerted by a young mother, who rented a room in the same apartment. She had been woken up by a neighbour who had had seen smoke billowing out.

The woman went to wake the 83 year old man, but he was already dead.

The cause of the blaze is not yet known, but an ashtray was found near the mattress that went up in flames, firefighters said.

by SGL