BBQ embers could be cause

However, the 44-year-old, who has been identified as Ignacio G.H. could face the full force of the law if found to have been responsible for starting the fire, albeit by accident - which is what he had claimed in an interview with the Bulletin sister paper Ultima Hora.

It appears that the suspect thought that the embers from the BBQ the four had enjoyed the evening before had cooled down and were out the following morning.

He piled them into a wheel barrow and apparently dumped them on an area of dry grass. But, the embers were still warm and within minutes the dry grass apparently caught fire and spread through Sa Coma Calenta in Andraitx rapidly.

While there is obviously a great deal of anger in and around Andraitx, especially amongst the victims, the President of the Balearics, Jose Ramon Bauza, yesterday stressed the judiciary should be allowed t do it's job. “Negligence has caused a total tragedy and I hope that the courts are aware of this when they carry out their investigation. We have lost a large part of our natural heritage because of this tragedy and we all lived through a period of deep frustration because there was nothing many of us could do to help, we just felt so impotent,” Bauza said.

Last night, as the suspect remained in court, the Council of Majorca, which under its previous President, Francina Armegol, fought long and hard to have the area declared a UNESCO heritage site, said is was deeply saddened by this matter in hand.