There was a fire in a cave house in Benalúa in the Guadix area of Granda where a family of five had been staying.

The parents and their three children were affected by the fire on Calle Tarambolo around 09.30h yesterday.

Neighbours alerted the emergency call centre, 112 and the fire service from Guadix was soon at the scene.

The fire personnel together with officers from the Guardia Civil intervened, as well as the Policía Local and local volunteers from Protección Civil.

All of the family were taken to hospital, with the baby being the worst affected by burns and requiring immediate attention in the ICU in one of Granada’s general hospitals.

However, the mother and another one of her children were flown to the Hospital Virgen del Rocío in Sevilla, which specialises in burns.

The father and the remaining child were attended to at the Hospital de Alta Resolución in Guadix and treated for smoke inhalation.

The fire was thought to have been caused by a candle in the sitting room. Being a cave house, tackling the fire was particularly difficult for the fire service, as this kind of dwelling lacks the ventilation of a normal house. In fact, the fire personnel had to get the family out through the only access, the front door, through a room in flames.

After the fire was put out, fire personnel had to knock a hole in one of the walls to get the smoke out.

(News/Noticias: Benalua, Guadix, Granada, Andalucia)