A 17-year-old girl is fighting for her life after allegedly being set on fire by a boat migrant who escaped a deportation order.
The victim suffered burns to 95% of her body after being set alight on early Wednesday morning inside a squatted house in La Isleta, a struggling neighbourhood in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria.
The alleged attacker, a 20-year-old Moroccan man, named only as, Abarrafia, has been arrested by the Policia Nacional. Authorities are investigating whether a second person may have been involved.
The victim, who was missing after running away from a state care facility, managed to crawl out of the burning building and reach the street, where she cried for help and identified her attacker.
‘It was him,’ she reportedly told bystanders before being taken to hospital.
According to police sources cited by El Mundo, she has been transferred to a specialist burns unit in Sevilla, due to the severity of her injuries.
The attack allegedly took place around 4am, during a confrontation between the two inside the squat.
For reasons still under investigation, Abarrafia allegedly doused a piece of paper in fuel, set it alight, and threw it at the girl, igniting her body. He then fled the scene.
Despite her condition, the girl was able to exit the property and alert others before emergency services arrived.
Shortly afterwards, police arrested the suspect, who was later admitted to Doctor Negrin Hospital with smoke inhalation. He remains under police custody.
Abarrafia, a Moroccan national, arrived in Lanzarote by boat in June, reports El Mundo.
He was transferred to a migrant detention center in Gran Canaria pending deportation, but managed to escape and had been living in the squat where the attack occurred.
The victim’s disappearance had been reported several days earlier, and a renewed search request was issued just hours before the incident.
Authorities have not formally confirmed whether the two were in a romantic relationship.
Both the regional government and the Canary Islands Institute for Gender Equality have said that they are treating the case with caution while awaiting further evidence.
The investigation continues.
