A RAGING inferno that has engulfed the Costa del Sol has already seen one British man killed and several injured as thousands of residents and tourists have been forced to flee their homes and hotels.
Evacuees have been housed in sports halls and community centres in Cala de Mijas, Coín, Calahonda, Ojén, Alhaurín, Monda and Marbella, and include around 300 British tourists.
The charred body of a British man of 78 years of age was found close to the flames in Marbella, where 10 entire urbanisations have been evacuated.
His identity has not yet been revealed.
Residents in Coín, where the fire started, said the flames were up to six metres high and less than five metres from their houses.
Around 5,000 people have been forced to leave their homes and hotel accommodation within the 12-kilometre radius affected by the fire, and British Consulate staff have been drafted in to check on the welfare of UK nationals.
Two people have been injured and taken to hospital, and a third woman who was hospitalised along with her two children has been discharged.
Around 350 firefighters are working around the clock, along with nine hydroplanes.
This is the worst of Spain's 12,000 forest fires this summer, which have put paid to 1,500 square kilometres.
The Costa del Sol fire, along with most of the others, is thought to have been the work of arsonists.
Spain has seen its driest winter since 1942 and some of the hottest summer temperatures on record, both of which have exacerbated the fires.
