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An Irishman has been found dead in a police cell on the Costa del Sol.
The 30-year-old had been arrested on suspicion of domestic violence.
He was being held in police custody ahead of a first court appearance where an investigating judge was due to decide whether to remain him in prison or release him on bail.
The alarm was raised on Friday morning as an officer carried out routine checks on detainees being held in cells at a National Police station in the Costa del Sol resort of Torremolinos.
Medical experts were unable to revive him and he was pronounced dead at the scene.
The unnamed man is said to have received medical attention before being put in a police cell due to his “state of agitation.”
Local reports, which describe him as an Irish national, say a preliminary autopsy has linked the cause of death to a pulmonary edema. The condition is caused by too much fluid in the lungs which makes it difficult to breathe.
Heart problems are usually the cause, although contact with certain toxins, exercising at high altitudes and trauma to the chest wall are among the factors which can also lead to fluid collecting in the lungs.
Further tests are understood to be ongoing to try to determine the origin of the pulmonary edema said to have caused the death.
They will include toxicology tests carried out on tissue samples sent to a specialist laboratory in Seville.
A National Police spokesman in Malaga confirmed the dead man was an Irish national. He described him as being aged around 30. Local reports say he was 30.
The spokesman said: “The man who died was an Irish national aged around 30.
“He was in police custody having been arrested over his suspected involvement in a case of gender violence.”
Officers involved in the dead man’s arrest and those who were responsible for his care while he was in custody are expected to be questioned in the coming days as part of a formal probe by an investigating judge.
No further details have yet been released about the detention. It was not immediately clear this morning whether the Irishman is an expat or was on holiday in the area.
