An 87-year-old expat has died after a fire ripped through his rural home in the picturesque village of Frigiliana on Friday.
The alarm was raised at around 5.30pm, when emergency services were alerted to thick plumes of smoke billowing from a house in the Fuente del Conejo area, just opposite the main town centre.
Police, rural guards, firefighters from the Provincial Consortium, Guardia Civil officers and emergency medical crews all rushed to the scene.
Firefighters battled to bring the blaze under control, but the property was completely gutted.
A 34-year-old man was treated at the scene for smoke inhalation but did not require hospitalisation.
The victim has been named locally as Michael Tomas Stevenitt, a foreign national who had lived in Frigiliana for more than 20 years. His body was discovered inside the burnt-out building.
The Guardia Civil has launched an investigation to determine the cause of the blaze.
A judicial commission from Torrox attended the scene to oversee the recovery of the body.
News of the tragedy has shaken the small, close-knit community, where Stevenitt was known as a long-standing resident.
