Spain battles deadly wildfire after 11 killed and 19 reported missing

LOS GALLARDOS: A fast-moving wildfire in southern Spain has claimed at least 11 lives, while 19 people remain unaccounted for as firefighters continue efforts to contain one of the country’s deadliest wildfires.

Authorities said many of those who died were believed to be foreign nationals who left designated shelter areas despite official advice to remain indoors. Instead of following emergency instructions, they attempted to escape by car as the fire rapidly engulfed the area.

The blaze spread through forested terrain surrounding the town of Los Gallardos in Almeria province, a region popular with tourists.

Antonio Sanz, Andalusia’s regional emergency chief, said four people believed to be British were found dead inside a vehicle with a right-hand-drive steering wheel. Another seven victims were discovered after apparently abandoning their vehicles and trying to flee on foot along a route that was not included in the official evacuation plan.

Sanz said preliminary information suggested that most, if not all, of those killed were foreign nationals. Fire crews remain at the scene as search and containment operations continue.

The circumstances resemble those in neighbouring Portugal in June 2017, when a huge wildfire during a heatwave killed more than 60 people and injured dozens more, with half of the victims burned to death in their cars as they tried to flee.

Early start to Spain’s wildfire season

A series of early summer heatwaves has triggered an early start to wildfire season in Spain.

So far this year, about 57,000 hectares (140,850 acres) have burned, about half the annual average for the past two decades and making up 40% of all the area burned in the European Union, according to the European Forest Fire Information System.

Last year, a record heatwave in August provoked the worst wildfire season in three decades, charring 330,000 ha, an area twice the size of London.

“We usually don’t see these fires until August. They’re starting earlier now because the vegetation dries out sooner,” Roman Garcia, a forest firefighter from Salamanca, said on state broadcaster TVE.

As authorities sought to identify the dead and track down the missing, anxious relatives from around the world posted messages on social media and local forums.

One woman said her daughter, who was driving a red Ford Fiesta and had her dog with her, was missing. Another person from the United States said her brother had been among a group of 10 people who tried to escape through a valley next to a stream. She shared the coordinates and asked emergency services to look for him.

The fire is believed to have started when a power cable came loose and fell on a patch of dry scrubland on Thursday, Pedro Ridao, mayor of the nearby town of Antas, told TVE.

“It was mainly the wind that was blowing in the afternoon that caused it to spread. As the afternoon wore on, we could see the fire was racing ahead, devouring farmhouses, holiday homes and cars, so we sprang into action,” Ridao said.

The area has many ravines, complicating access for emergency services, Ridao added.

Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez offered his condolences to the families of the victims and said he felt “enormous sadness and devastation”.

The death toll makes it Spain’s deadliest wildfire since 2005, when 11 firefighters were killed in a blaze in the central province of Guadalajara that was sparked by a barbecue. That disaster prompted major changes to Spain’s wildfire prevention and emergency response systems.