According to Spanish press reports the Ministry for the Interior have launched an investigation into five deaths from cancer as well as another seven cases of the disease among workers who have used a supercomputer known as Clara'.

The device is based in El Escorial in Madrid in a data protection office. The El Mundo newspaper has reported that the deaths have all occurred over the past 14 months. Some 250 workers work at the site on the Carretera de Guadarrama, and police have employed a third-party company to measure radiation levels.

There are reports that the affected workers have been at the centre for more than 20 years.