Wildfire in southern Spain leaves at least 12 dead and 23 missing
At least 12 people have died and 23 others are missing in a wildfire in southern Spain, Andalusia's regional leader Juanma Moreno has said. Four of the victims may be British, Andalusia officials say.Hundreds o...
At least 12 people have died and 23 others are missing in a wildfire in southern Spain, Andalusia's regional leader Juanma Moreno has said.
Four of the victims may be British, Andalusia officials say.
Hundreds of people are trying to contain the fire, which Moreno said appeared to have been caused by a downed power line. The flames then spread in a wooded area around Los Gallardos, Almería.
A sustained heatwave with temperatures of around 40C (104F) has caused wildfires across Southern Europe this summer. Firefighters have battled major incidents in France, Portugal and Spain, with thousands forced to leave their homes.
The bodies of the victims were found in and around the small village of Bédar, just outside Los Gallardos.
Antonio Sanz, Andalusia's health and emergencies minister, said the fire had been complex and rapid and the majority or even all of the victims may have been foreign nationals.
Four people were found trapped in their car, said Sanz, while eight other victims were found elsewhere, apparently trying to escape the flames.
He said the four in the car were believed to be "of British origin" and that the car had a steering wheel on the right. The UK Foreign Office has contacted Spanish authorities, a Downing Street spokesperson told PA news agency.
Belgian Foreign Minister Maxime Prévot said many Belgians had second homes in Spain and consular services were trying to contact "Belgians with whom they have not been able to get in touch".
With at least 12 people dead, this is already among the deadliest wildfires in Spanish history.
In 2005, 11 members of a firefighting team died when they became trapped by flames in the village of Riba de Saelices east of Madrid after a fire went out of control at a barbecue.
In 1984, 20 people died in a fire on the Canary Island of La Gomera.
In 1979, 21 people, including nine children, died in a forest fire near Lloret de Mar in northeastern Spain.
Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez said in May that Spain would deploy its largest-ever summer wildfire response this year, local media reported.
In June, Spain reached its highest daily average since 1950, and had days where it recorded its highest ever temperatures for that month. Temperatures as high as 42C (107.6F) were forecast in some parts of the country.
Last year, a record 393,000 hectares (971,000 acres) burned in Spain, according to the European Forest Fire Information System (EFFIS), more than six times the Spanish average for between 2006 and 2024.