There was a wedding reception taking place in nerja on Thursday night that ended in tragedy after a candle caused a guest's dress to catch light.

The wedding reception, which was for an Irish couple, took place in tourist apartments on the Balcón de Europa in Nerja and the reception on the garden terrace.

During the celebrations, the dress of one of the guests brushed against a lit candle and the flames spread very fast. The 29-year-old victim suffered burns requiring being hospitalised in the Serious Burns Ward at the Hospital Virgen in Sevilla.

As part of the event decorations, they had placed lit candles in the toilets and it was whilst entering into this confined space that the dress made contact with the candle flame. It was another female guest that heard the commotion inside the toilet who entered and found the victim semi-conscious on the floor and badly burnt.

The Guardia Civil have begun an investigation into the incident to establish the circumstances involved, although all indications point towards an unfortuante accident.

The young Irish woman suffered 70%, third-degree burns over her body, especially on her legs and body.

(News: Nerja, Axarquia, Costa del Sol, Malaga, Andalucia)

Tags: Irish Couple, Wedding, Lit Candle, Dress, 3-Degree Burns, Balcon de Europa, Tourist Apartments