At least 11 people have died and 19 others remain missing after a fast-moving wildfire swept through southern Spain, making it one of the country’s deadliest blazes in decades.
The fire broke out around the town of Los Gallardos in Almeria province on Thursday, with firefighters still battling to contain the flames on Friday.
Regional emergency chief Antonio Sanz said most of the victims appeared to be foreign nationals who ignored official advice to remain indoors and instead attempted to flee.
Among the dead was one Spanish citizen, while the remaining victims are believed to include British, French and Belgian nationals. Four people, believed to be British, died inside a vehicle, while seven others were found dead after abandoning their cars and trying to escape on foot along an unofficial evacuation route.
“The consequences have been devastating. Everything suggests that most, if not all, of those who died were foreign nationals,” Sanz said.
The tragedy has drawn comparisons with Portugal’s devastating 2017 wildfires, where more than 60 people lost their lives, many while trying to escape in their vehicles.
Authorities said around 17,000 people were injured and nearly 18,000 displaced after the blaze destroyed homes, vehicles and holiday properties across the area.
Spain’s wildfire season has started unusually early this year after successive heatwaves left vegetation extremely dry. About 57,000 hectares have already burned in 2026, accounting for roughly 40 per cent of all land destroyed by wildfires across the European Union so far this year.
“We normally see fires like this in August. They are starting earlier because the vegetation is drying out much sooner,” forest firefighter Roman Garcia told state broadcaster TVE.
Rescue teams have scaled back hopes of finding survivors as families across Europe and the United States continue searching for missing relatives. Several have appealed on social media for help in locating loved ones believed to have been caught in the fire.
The cause of the blaze remains under investigation. Local officials initially suspected a fallen power cable ignited dry vegetation, but electricity company Endesa said preliminary inspections found no evidence to support that claim.
Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez expressed condolences to the victims’ families, describing the disaster as “a moment of enormous sadness and devastation.”
The wildfire is Spain’s deadliest since 2005, when 11 firefighters were killed battling a blaze in Guadalajara. That disaster led to major reforms in the country’s wildfire prevention and emergency response systems.
