A 17-year-old girl remains in critical condition after she was allegedly set on fire by a Moroccan migrant awaiting deportation.
The attack occurred on Wednesday morning in a squat in the La Isleta neighbourhood of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Spain.
The alleged attacker, identified by Spanish media as 20-year-old Abarrafia H., had arrived in Lanzarote aboard a rubber dinghy on June 2.
He was then transferred to Gran Canaria whilst awaiting deportation proceedings.
The teenager managed to escape the burning building.
She reportedly told witnesses: “It was him. He threw a burning piece of paper at me.”
The victim has been airlifted to a hospital in Seville due to the severity of her injuries.
The burns covered 95 per cent of her body.
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The attack occurred on Wednesday morning in a squat in the La Isleta neighbourhood of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria
Police have arrested Abarrafia H. and are investigating whether a second person may have been involved in the incident.
The suspect has told officers the fire was an accident, claiming a mattress they were smoking on caught fire before spreading to the teenager.
Disturbing footage captured the moment flames engulfed the house after the victim was set alight.
The girl had been living in a state care facility for minors and had been missing for three days, according to Spanish newspaper ABC.
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Disturbing footage captured the moment flames engulfed the house after the victim was set alight
Sources close to her claimed the pair had been romantically involved and that she would run away from her care facility to meet him.
Local courts for violence against women have not yet intervened whilst police determine the nature of their relationship.
Abarrafia H. had been residing in a refugee home on the Spanish island near the incident location.
He received a deportation order shortly after arriving in Spain due to lacking legal documentation to remain in the country.
The Spanish archipelago off northwest Africa regularly experiences large numbers of migrant arrivals
The expulsion procedure allowed him a one-month period to appeal, but he never filed, according to reports.
Abarrafia was hospitalised at Doctor Negrin hospital following his arrest for smoke inhalation treatment but has since been discharged and remains in police custody.
The Spanish archipelago off northwest Africa regularly experiences large numbers of migrant arrivals, with people mainly from West Africa attempting the perilous Atlantic crossing in makeshift vessels.
Spain received a record number of migrants who crossed illegally by sea in 2024, with more than 61,000 arrivals by boat, including nearly 47,000 landing in the Canary Islands.