Two children have died in Benalmadena after the apartment below them caught fire in the early hours of Thursday morning.

The flames tore through the home in Arroyo de la Miel at around 5.30am, when the first calls to emergency services were made.

The mother of the victims – a boy and a girl – was rushed to hospital in a serious condition, while a firefighter was injured during the rescue operation and several police officers were treated for smoke inhalation.

The blaze broke out in a flat on Calle Onix, prompting a major emergency response and the evacuation of the four-storey residential building.

Fire crews from Benalmadena, Mijas and Fuengirola, together with the 061 emergency medical service, the Policia Nacional and Local Police, were dispatched to the scene.

According to Benalmadena Town Hall, firefighters arrived to find the flames already well advanced, with several apartments affected by the fire. Two floors of the building had to be evacuated.

Rescue teams managed to bring several people to safety, but were unable to save the lives of the two children, aged just 10 and 15.

The children’s mother was treated at the scene before being taken to hospital, where she remains in a serious condition.

Benalmadena mayor Juan Antonio Lara described the incident as a ‘brutal tragedy’ that had left the town heartbroken.

‘Today, terrible pain has overwhelmed our town,’ he said, adding that the local authority remains focused on the mother’s condition.

He also expressed his condolences to the children’s family and thanked the firefighters and police officers who risked their lives during the rescue.

‘Nobody prepares us to face a loss like this,’ he said. ‘I know the pain and helplessness you are feeling, and I share it completely with you.’

The cause of the fire remains unknown.