Madrid: The Interior Ministry says a small bomb has exploded on a beach close to a hotel in the popular southern resort town of Torremolinos, but no one was injured.

Ministry spokesman Paco Gil says the device went off shortly after midnight close to the Hotel Sol Aloha while hundreds of people were walking along the sea front.

There was no warning given before Tuesday's blast and no group has claimed immediate responsibility.

Spanish National Radio says there were some 800 guests in the hotel including many foreign tourists.

The Basque separatist group ETA has set off similar bombs in other parts of Spain in recent weeks. The blast comes after a number of suspected ETA members were arrested.