Experts look into huge underground cave uncovered by construction work in Benalmádena Pueblo

Benalmádena Pueblo is undergoing a series of works during these winter months that are intended to address a number of necessary interventions, according to the town hall. In this context, the whole of the main axis that divides the urban centre is closed to traffic because work is being carried out in parallel in the historic centre, on Avenida Juan Luis Peralta and Avenida Retamar.

It was in the latter that work had to be halted for a few days due to the surprise discovery of a cavity of considerable dimensions. This avenue serves as the access point to all the new housing developments in the municipality, as it is one of the main areas of expansion in Benalmádena.

Work was being carried out to install a new water supply pipe when they noticed that the vault of the cave was collapsing, revealing a hole several metres deep and wide.

"There was no way to access it. We were not able to calculate the exact dimensions and we were aware that it was a cavity wedged between all the houses and buildings in that area, so we decided to stop the work at that point and commission a speleo-archaeological survey to give us more information about the cave we had found, about which there was nothing documented," councillor for works José Luis Bergillos said.

The study, which was contracted as a matter of urgency, has already yielded conclusive results, according to Bergillos. "The archaeological survey has confirmed that it is a natural cavity produced by the water that runs underground, which has no connection to the surface and shows no evidence of any human presence there at any time," explained the councillor.

The latter is key because it rules out the presence of archaeological remains, which would have required more in-depth studies.

The cave, which, according to calculations, is about eight metres in diameter, was completely intact and until now no one knew of its existence. In view of this, and having ruled out human presence throughout its history, the town hall has decided to fill it with permeable material and document the discovery, but little more. Once the hole had been filled in and the danger to the neighbouring buildings had been ruled out, work in the area continued as normal.

"We must not forget that Benalmádena is a calcareous area, with a lot of underground water and this type of cavities are common. The older people say that there are many caves under Benalmádena Pueblo", Bergillos said.