The cave houses are very old but the collapse of the roof of one of the houses in Rojales is unprecedented in its severity .

The roof fell onto an elderly lady as she lay in bed and killed her .

The emergency services were called , including the judicial police . When they arrived the womans’ son was at the scene but he was unable to do do anything and could not actually tell if she was inside .

The fire brigade cleared away a large amount of rubble and when they found the pensioner they were unable to revive her .

Props needed to be used to prevent further collapses and it is thought that there had been some sort of earth shift from causes unknown .

The 75 year old victim was born in this cave house , which had been built by her father . It was one of the most beautiful examples of a cave house in Rojales and there had been no indication of structural problems .