Walter Finch
FOUR police officers have been praised for rescuing an elderly man from a burning house in Malaga – but not from floods.
They are are just some of the heroes to have emerged during the DANA storms that lashed Spain’s south coast this week.
But it was just before the bombardment from a red-alert DANA storm in the early hours of Tuesday morning when neighbours in Alhaurin el Grande noticed smoke billowing from a nearby home.
Emergency services were called, and local police officers arrived on the scene to find the house engulfed in flames.
READ MORE: Malaga is on flood alert: Rivers are rising after night of heavy rain – these are the at risk areas
The fire, which is believed to have been sparked by a portable heater in the living room, had spread quickly through the ground floor of the two-storey house, sending heavy smoke into every corner.
Upon arrival, the officers were confronted with a partial inferno, with plumes of dark smoke billowing from the upper windows.
To gain control of the situation, they smashed a window on the first floor to vent some of the smoke before entering.
The thick smoke, however, forced them to retreat and re-enter multiple times in their desperate search for the trapped pensioner.
Eventually they bravely managed to enter the smoke-filled building and found the 81-year-old man lying unconscious on the floor.
Despite the house burning down around them, and acutely aware of further emergencies to come when the storms arrived, they managed to carry him out of the house and into the waiting ambulance.
The man was rushed to the Hospital Valle del Guadalhorce and is currently battling severe respiratory damage and burns in intensive care.
Meanwhile, dozens of horses and dogs were rescued from the jaws of death during lethal DANA floods.
Footage shared on X shows the moment dozens of firefighters and police officers carried away dogs and led away horses from the Club Hipico de Malaga stables on Wednesday.
It came amid local outcry after footage showed the site being overrun by flash floods.
The equestrian club, which keeps a total of 41 horses on the Camino de los Almedrales, came into trouble when a nearby stream overflowed.
The emergency rescue operation was able to save all of them, as well as a further 40 dogs.
Another hero of the day was a young man who saved his elderly neighbour from severe flooding in Malaga, carrying her to safety amid rising water.
Despite water up to his knees, a young man has been spotted bravely carrying an elderly lady to safety in Malaga.
It comes as the city is inundated with flood water, washing away rubbish containers and cars while trapping locals in their homes.
The man was praised as a ‘hero’ by onlookers, who applauded his actions.
