A 50-year-old man set fire to a Spanish café after staff told him they had run out of mayonnaise for his sandwich. The shocking incident occurred at Las Postas Cafe-Bar in Los Palacios y Villafranca, near Seville, when the customer was also informed they had no ketchup either.
CCTV footage captured the horrifying moment the man left the café and walked 160 feet to a nearby petrol station. He returned with a 1.5-litre bottle filled with petrol and asked staff once more if they had any sauce before dousing the bar with fuel and setting it alight.
Customer safety crisis
A ball of flames erupted as customers including young children and elderly pensioners fled the packed establishment. One quick-thinking waiter grabbed a fire extinguisher while others evacuated the building, preventing what could have been a deadly incident.
The suspect rushed from the scene with his left hand on fire from the explosion he had caused. Guardia Civil officers arrested him minutes later in a nearby square, and he required medical treatment for burns on his left arm.
Damage and investigation
The arson attack caused an estimated €7,000 to €9,000 (£6,055 to £7,784) in damage, though thankfully only material losses were reported. The suspect, from the neighbouring province of Cordoba, has a criminal record and has been brought before the courts.
José Antonio Caballero, owner of Las Postas Cafe-Bar, described the incident as "surreal". He said: "The bar didn't have a kitchen and the sandwiches came ready-prepared and we didn't have sauces. At that moment he walked to the garage opposite, returned to the bar with a bottle in his hand which we discovered afterwards had petrol inside, and asked the first waiter: 'Are you sure there's no mayonnaise?' without giving him time to reply."
The Express reports that the café's lack of a kitchen explained why they had no condiments available, as they only served pre-prepared sandwiches.
Wildfire emergency context
The incident comes as Spain battles extreme wildfires with temperatures soaring to 45°C across the country. Multiple blazes have erupted across northwestern regions in recent days, requiring soldiers to support firefighters in Galicia and Extremadura.
Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez said the deadly wildfires demonstrate the urgent need for sustained action against climate emergencies. He warned: "The climate emergency is getting worse and more recurrent each year, and the effects of that emergency are accelerating each year."
Sources used: "Mirror", "Daily Mail", "Express" Note: This article has been edited with the help of Artificial Intelligence.
