Around two thousand people were evacuated from a number of properties in the centre of Benidorm this morning after a tanker transporting propane gas was damaged as it was going under the bridge in the Plaza Triangular, close to the Town Hall, which was among the buildings to be evacuated.

It seems that the valve on top of the tanker was ruptured as the tanker was passing beneath the bridge.

While emergency service specialists worked to seal the leak, and as a precautionary measure, at least four residential buildings and three hotels in the immediate area were evacuated though the occupants were allowed to return after a few hours.

To facilitate their removal, the 20,000 litres of propane gas contained in the damaged tanker were transferred to a second vehicle.