Tragic house fire in Camino del Realejo, in Puente Tablas (Jaén) after somebody threw gasoline on an open fireplace – four family members died as a consequence.

The grandmother, the father-in-law, his son and a 4-year-old grandson died in the fire after the flames reached the 5-litre petrol container – somebody had apparently thrown gasoline onto the fire directly from the said container. The ball of flame engulfed the room and then gutted most of the lower floor.

One the persons pulled from the house still alive was a 4-month-old baby, only to succumb to its burns the next day in the ICU of the Jaén general hospital.

The accident occurred a little before four in the afternoon, the family was downstairs and they were going to use an open fireplace to do an indoor BBQ and wanted get the fire, which was down to embers, going again.

There were other family members in the house, amongst them, minors, but who were not in the room, who either managed to get straight out, or flee upstairs and from there, escape.

A patrol from the Policía Local soon arrived and without any protection entered the room in flames and bring out a baby and young girl. The policemen later had to be treated for smoke poisoning.

Now many locals believe the chalet is cursed; there was the murder of a young female teacher at the hands of her boyfriend there in October 2006. The house was bought soon afterwards and the new owner died shortly afterwards. Two years ago it was bought and the new owner – the father – died six months afterwards. After his death, the family – his mother and father-in-law and child – used the chalet on weekends.

(News: Puente Tablas, Jaen, Andalucia)