At least 12 people have died in a wildfire in southern Spain, with early indications suggesting four of the victims are British, according to a local official
Hundreds of emergency responders are working to extinguish the blaze around Los Gallardos, Almería - officials say they've never had such a devastating fire
The bodies of the victims were found near the small village of Bédar, just outside Los Gallardos, while 23 others are still missing and hundreds of residents have been evacuated
The fire is "more or less" under control but "if the wind picks up again, things could get complicated", the mayor of nearby town Antas tells Spanish media
Meanwhile, the UK Foreign Office is in touch with the relevant authorities in Spain over the "concerning" reports of British casualties, Downing Street says
A sustained heatwave with temperatures of around 40C (104F) has caused wildfires across southern Europe this summer
Peter, on holidays near Los Gallardos, tells the BBC it was "surreal" as the sky became darker, with the "glow" of the fire in the distance -get in touch, external if it's safe to do so
The Spanish air force has been using amphibious planes to collect water and drop it from metres above the wildfire in an effort to control the flames.
See the latest images in the video below.
James Kelly
BBC News
Image source, Shelagh ChapmanMore now from Peter Chapman, who as described in our last post, can see the smoke from his holiday home in Mojacar.
He says he and his wife Shelagh went to a supermarket earlier, and describes people with a "surreal look on their faces".
"I wouldn’t say there’s panic, because people are pretty stoic, but there is a surreal atmosphere. People are concerned for those living there," he says.
"There’s a local forum in Mojácar where people post comments on Facebook. A lot of people are asking, ‘have you heard from so-and-so?’ or asking others to get in touch if they’ve seen somebody."
"It’s just terrible," he says.
James Kelly
BBC News
Image source, Shelagh ChapmanPeter Chapman and his wife Shelagh have a holiday home they've owned for 20 years in Mojacar - a short drive from Los Gallardos.
They first saw signs of the fire on Thursday evening. "I thought, ‘there’s a storm coming,’ because the sky was getting darker. Then there was that smell of smoke in the air," Peter tells BBC.
"You could see a glow in the sky in the distance. The only way I can describe it is by thinking of how my mother used to describe the London bombings during the Second World War. It was surreal," he says.
The couple went to bed as normal, and say they woke this morning to ash in the sky and smoke in the air.
"We’re still able to sit outside and we’re not being affected by the smoke at the moment. We’ve seen a number of aircraft in the sky, which we think are picking up water to douse the flames."
Image source, AFP via Getty ImagesThe regional leader of Andalusia Juanma Moreno says there are 30 aircraft and "hundreds of personnel" fighting the fire in Los Gallardos, in a short update on social media.
"Stay strong and keep up the great effort," Moreno adds.
Image source, EPA/ShutterstockA fire service helicopter drops water onto one of the fire's hotspots in Los Gallardos, Almeria, Spain
The mayor of a town near where the wildfire is burning says the fire is "more or less" under control but warns "if the wind picks up again, things could get complicated".
Pedro Riado, the mayor of Antas, tells Spanish broadcaster RTVE there has been significant damage to land in the area but the fire has not reached any homes yet.
The mayor says that authorities will be keeping a close eye on wind and air conditions, "which is our main concern right now".
We can now bring you some more from Andalusia's regional leader Juanma Moreno, who has just given a update on the wildfire.
After confirming that 12 people have died and 23 are missing, Moreno says four people remain "seriously injured".
Moreno says that just because someone is missing "doesn't mean they're dead" and may be located in a different area, so "we must be cautious".
He calls the situation a "major tragedy" and describes the fire as "complex".
Image source, AFP via Getty ImagesThe victims bodies were found in and around the small village of Bédar, just outside Los Gallardos.
The small village is "one of the places in Spain with the highest concentration of British residents", local journalist Alessio Ghirlanda tells the BBC News Channel.
According to Spain's national statistics institute, the village had a population of 1,009 people in January 2022 - the latest point its data goes up to - 447 of which were listed as British nationals.
"So there is a chance that some of the people missing may be British," Ghirlanda says.
He adds that he has "been informed that the families of two elderly couples who live in Beida are looking for them".
He says he doesn't know if they are among the 23 reported missing by authorities, but that "there is a search going on for these people".
The number of people killed in the wildfire has risen to 12, Juanma Moreno, leader of the Andalusia region, has just confirmed.
He says 23 people are still missing.
We'll bring you more of his comments shortly.
The UK Foreign Office is in contact with authorities in Spain, a No 10 spokeswoman says, after reports that four British people may have been killed in the fire.
Andalusia's health and emergencies minister Antonio Sanz said earlier that four bodies were found in a burnt-out car which had its steering wheel on the right, and that the people inside were believed to be “of British origin”.
Downing Street says the government is seeking more information following the “concerning” reports, PA news agency reports.
“I’m aware of those reports and the Foreign Office are in touch with the relevant authorities in Spain," the No 10 spokeswoman says.
Paul Kirby
Europe digital editor
Image source, Getty ImagesThe fire in Los Gallardos as seen from the Port of Garrucha
The wildfire started in the Los Gallardos area of Almería, a few kilometres inland from the Mediterranean coast. Officials in the Andalusia region of southeastern Spain say they've never had such a devastating fire.
They've blamed the fire on an electricity pole falling in a hilly area and sparking the blaze, although that's been ruled out by the local power supplier. Whatever the cause, the fire spread rapidly as vegetation in the area was parched after weeks of high temperatures and the flames were whipped up further by strong winds.
Most of the victims we know about were trapped by the fire as they tried to escape the small village of Bédar.
At least 11 people have died and regional officials say most or even all of the victims were foreign nationals who were living in the area.
Four of the victims were in one car and officials believe they are of British origin, as their car had a steering wheel on the right-hand side. The other seven victims were part of a separate group.
Local emergencies minister Antonio Sanz says those who died had tried to leave the village via a route different from the evacuation route and had become trapped by flames.
Although 19 people have been reported missing, authorities say it is possible they have sought refuge with family or friends.
Chris Fawkes
BBC Weather presenter
Image source, Getty ImagesMuch of western Europe has seen repeated extreme heatwaves over recent months.
Spain has been hit hard with more than 1,000 excess deaths reported in June's heatwave alone - with some areas recording record temperatures.
Spain is no stranger to hot and dry summers; these bring conditions conducive for wildfires.
Satellite pictures seem to show a thermal heat anomaly associated with yesterday's fire around 16:40 local time (15:40 BST).
Once the fire had initiated, southeasterly winds gusting in excess of 25mph would have fanned the flames, pushing the fire rapidly up the slopes of the local hills.
Satellite imagery shows the fire rapidly becoming much larger and much more intense into the early evening.
The flames spread through a wooden area around Los Gallardos in Almería after the fire broke out yesterday afternoon.
The bodies of the 11 victims were then found in and around the small village of Bédar, just outside Los Gallardos.
There are multiple active fires in the area, as well as further blazes across Spain's Andalusia region.
Earlier we brought you comments from Andalusia's regional leader Juanma Moreno, who said the fire appeared to have been caused by a fallen power line.
This has since been disputed by Spanish electricity company Endesa, which sent a technician to investigate the power line in question at 02:00 (01:00 BST), reports Spain's public broadcaster RTVE.
Endesa says the fallen power line identified at the start of the blaze does not belong to them and is inactive.
RTVE reports that Endesa found the cable was from a private connection to a restaurant that shut more than 25 years ago, and whose electrical service has since been disconnected.
Red Eléctrica, a separate electricity company, has also denied that the line belongs to its network.
A Civil Guard investigation into whether the blaze was caused by a fallen power line remains ongoing.
Image source, ReutersA firefighting plane dumps water over a wildfire in Los Gallardos
Heatwaves across Europe have dried out vast areas of land and made them particularly vulnerable to wildfires.
"The fire danger remains at very high or extreme levels in much of the country," Spain's meteorological agency says, urging people to "take extra precautions".
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.
Climate change is driving up temperatures around the world, and Europe is the fastest warming continent, heating up twice as fast as the global average, according to the Copernicus climate service.
This is causing increased summer heatwaves, greater pressure on Europe's water supply, and more intense wildfires.
A wildfire in southern France has also forced thousands of people to evacuate as the country faces an early summer heatwave.
The fires have also affected Spain where more than 2,200 hectares in the natural reserve of Les Gavarres in the north of the country have been destroyed.
Emergency crews are continuing to battle the deadly blaze in Spain's southern Almería region.
Authorities say at least seven helicopters are involved in firefighting efforts, with hundreds more personnel on the ground.
Pedro Riado, the mayor of Antas, tells Spanish broadcaster RTVE that firefighters are using aerial equipment to tackle the fire as the local terrain makes it diffiuclt for engines to reach the flames.
Image source, EPA
Image source, EPA
Image source, EPA
Image source, EPA
Image source, ReutersEleven people have died and around 600 people remain displaced from their homes following the wildfire in Los Gallardos, emergency services in Spain have confirmed.
Around 120 people were evacuated early this morning, following separate evacuations of residents from the Almocáizar neighbourhood, Fuente del Albarico, Los Pinos, La Serena, as well as homes in the Pinar area of nearby Bédar, on Thursday.
The Emergency Agency of Andalucía (EMA) says that 148 people have been taken to two local shelters.
In a statement, the agency explains that four people have suffered serious burns or smoke inhalation and have been taken to hospital.
Four other people were treated at the scene for respiratory problems and minor burns, it adds.
Local minister Antonio Sanz says the fire is not spreading but winds are expected to shift, which could aggravate the blaze.
In the village of Bédar, some victims died while navigating their own evacuation route rather than the one designated by local officials, according to media outlet La Voz de Almería, citing Andalusia's emergency minister Antonio Sanz.
Sanz says some deaths occurred after the victims "decided to leave on their own through a dry riverbed," which "turned out to be a real trap".
Meanwhile, La Voz de Almeríaalso quoted Bédar Mayor Ángel Francisco Collado Fernández as saying that in the early stages of the fire, they went "door-to-door" warning residents to leave their homes. However, some did not want to leave, he adds.
As we reported earlier, the bodies of 11 victims were found in and around Bédar.
Image source, Getty ImagesThe fire, near the town of Los Gallardos, could be seen from the nearby port of coastal town Garrucha on Friday morning
Spain's Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez says all of Spain's "material and human" resources have been deployed to extinguish the fire.
Writing on X, Sánchez says he has spoken to leader of the Andalusia region, Juanma Moreno, and adds that the pair have been working together since it began.
"I reiterate the government’s condolences to the families of those who have died and our solidarity with all residents," he writes.
"Please follow the recommendations of the authorities and emergency services. Take extreme caution."
Image source, Getty ImagesHundreds of emergency responders and military personnel are battling the wildfire, which officials say has already burnt through 3,000 hectares in Almería.
The region's emergency agency (EMA) says so far it has deployed:
Spain's Military Emergency Unit (UME) says it has also deployed 220 soldiers and 70 vehicles to the Almería region to assist.
Meanwhile, Spain's civil guard says more than 160 law enforcement personnel are involved in the emergency response, aiding evacuation, traffic regulation and searching for the origin of the fire.
Image source, Getty ImagesSome 150 firefighters have been tackling the wildfire that has killed 11 people in Andalusia, southern Spain.
Footage released by local authorities shows the fire burning in bushes near a road in the area of Los Gallardos, Almería.
Watch: Firefighters battle flames as deadly wildfires rage in southern Spain
