Local man reportedly walked into the sacristy, sprayed it with flammable liquid and set fire to priest's robes stored there

This article is more than 9 years old

This article is more than 9 years old

Tourists were hurriedly evacuated from Barcelona's emblemetic Sagrada Familia basilica after an arson attack destroyed part of the original work of its eccentric architect, Antoni Gaudí.

A local man reportedly set the blaze after walking into the sacristy, spraying it with a flammable liquid and setting fire to the priests' robes stored there.

A group of tourists raised the alarm after flames and smoke started billowing from the sacristy and emergency services rushed to the building. Some 1,500 people had to be evacuated, though only four needed treatment for smoke inhalation.

The sacristy was destroyed in the blaze and the crypt – part of the building completed while Gaudí was still alive – was badly damaged by smoke.

All the robes and furniture in the sacristy were lost, local fire chief Miguel Ángel Fuente said.

Joan Rigol, the president of the society in charge of building the unfinished temple, claimed the arsonist had mental health problems, and said he had been caught by a group of tourists and handed to police.

The colourful basilica, with its soaring, ceramic-encrusted towers, became a tourist attraction and emblem of the city decades before it was due to be finished.

Gaudí devoted the last 15 years of his life to the building before he was run down by a tram in 1926, at which point less than a quarter of it had been built. Work stalled in the 1930s and funding by public subscription meant money to pay for it appeared slowly.

Income from 2.5 million visitors a year has allowed progress to speed up, and religious services are now held there. Architects are still unwilling to put an exact date on when the building may be finished.

Pope Benedict XVI formally consecrated it as a basilica in November.

A previous arson attack saw anarchists break into the building in 1936 and burn many of Gaudí's original models and plans, meaning later building work has required a certain amount of guesswork.

Authorities plan to continue with services there over Easter.

The British tennis player Andy Murray, who is in the city for the Barcelona Open tournament, had to cancel a photoshoot at the site.