Firefighters battle flames as a deadly wildfire rages in southern Spain.
ByNick BeakeEurope correspondent in Andalusia And Chris Graham
In Spain, hundreds of firefighters are still struggling to contain pockets of flames in the southeast after one of the country’s worst wildfires on record.
Emergency Services were deployed around the village of Bedar where 12 people were killed – among them four Britons, according to the Spanish authorities. 23 other people are still missing.
Local officials in the Los Gallardos area of Almería have warned the death toll could rise amid fears more Britons could be among those killed.
A prolonged heatwave with temperatures hovering around 40°C (104°F) caused wildfires in southern Europe this summer, notably in France, Portugal and Spain.
Rising temperatures, incredibly dry ground and powerful winds led to the rapid spread of the Los Gallardos Fire Thursday afternoon.
Antonio Sanz, Andalusia’s health and emergencies minister, said Saturday that the fire had ravaged 6,600 hectares (16,300 acres) of land.
The cause was attributed to a downed power line, which local power companies denied.
No additional information was given on the four people found dead in a burned car.
Sanz previously said they are believed to be “of British origin” and that the car had a right-hand drive.
He also said weather conditions had improved overnight, “allowing us to face the day with a better outlook than yesterday.”
He added: “This is the first day we will be able to launch a direct attack on the fire. Until now, the weather conditions and the behavior of the fire only allowed us to work defensively.”
A burnt car lies among the ashes near Bedar
Lucinda Curtois, who arrived in Spain on Thursday with her partner Riyaz Cheytan and their teenage children for a vacation, described their escape from Bedar.
“It was almost like there was a mushroom cloud of smoke, it was like a bomb had gone off,” she said.
Curtois said According to the BBC, she feared at least two other British nationals had been killed.
“They left their home on foot, I don’t know why,” she explained. “I can only assume it’s probably because their road was cut off because they live in the countryside.”
Wildfire moves toward residential buildings near El Pocico municipality
Bedar officials said some of those who died did not take the recommended evacuation route — but it is unclear to what extent those guidelines were conveyed.
Neither the Spanish authorities nor the Foreign Office in London have revealed the identity of the deceased.
Sanz said the rapid shootings were complex and the majority, if not all, of the victims may have been foreign nationals.
Belgian Foreign Minister Maxime Prévot said many Belgians had second homes in the country and that consular services were trying to contact “Belgians with whom they have not been able to come into contact.”
The Los Gallardos region is home to many foreign residents
With at least 12 deaths, it is already one of the deadliest forest fires in Spanish history.
In 1984, 20 people died in a fire on the Canary island of La Gomera, while in 1979, 21 people, including nine children, died in a forest fire near Lloret de Mar in northeastern Spain.
Climate change is raising temperatures around the world, and Europe is the fastest-warming continent, warming twice as fast as the global average, according to the Copernicus climate service.
This is causing increased summer heatwaves, increased pressure on Europe’s water supplies and more intense wildfires.
Additional reporting by Dearbail Jordan
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