Irish woman seriously injured after dress catches fire at a wedding in Spain

GERARD COUZENS

A female Irish holidaymaker is in a specialist Spanish hospital burns unit after a freak accident at a friend’s wedding.

The 29-year-old was ‘seriously injured’ after being engulfed in flames when her dress caught fire on decorative candles as she was in the bathroom.

Fellow guests dialled 999 after finding her semi-conscious at a holiday rental apartment in the eastern Costa del Sol resort of Nerja.

She was initially taken to a hospital in the nearby city of Malaga where she is understood to have undergone an emergency operation before being transferred to a burns unit at Seville’s Virgen del Rocio University Hospital.

The alarm is said to have been sounded just before midnight last Thursday following an Irish couple’s wedding celebration at holiday apartments in Nerja’s famous Balcon de Europa viewpoint area.

The couple reportedly organised an after-party below a terrace where they had previously tied the knot.

The injured woman has been described locally as a 29-year-old. She is said to have suffered serious burns to her legs and body.

Medics at the burns unit where she is currently being treated have told the local press they cannot predict her future evolution at this stage and her outlook "remains uncertain."

The incident is being treated as an horrific accident. It was not immediately clear this evening if the police are involved in the ongoing investigation.