Spain battles to contain one of its deadliest wildfires as at least 12 killed

Hundreds of firefighters in Spain are still battling to contain pockets of flames in the south east after one of the country's worst-ever wildfires.

Emergency services have been deployed around the village of Bedar where 12 people have been killed - among them four Britons, according to Spanish authorities. Another 23 people are still missing.

Local officials in the Los Gallardos area of Almería have warned the number of dead could rise, with fears that more Britons are among those killed.

A sustained heatwave with temperatures of around 40C (104F) has caused wildfires across Southern Europe this summer, particularly in France, Portugal and Spain.

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Soaring temperatures, incredibly dry ground and powerful winds led to the Los Gallardos fire spreading quickly on Thursday afternoon.

Antonio Sanz, Andalusia's health and emergencies minister, said on Saturday the fire had burned across 6,600 hectares (16,300 acres) of land.

The cause has been put down to a fallen power line, but local electricity companies have denied this.

No additional information has been given about the four people who were found dead in a burnt-out car.

Sanz said previously they are believed to be "of British origin" and that the car had a steering wheel on the right.

He also said weather conditions had improved overnight, "allowing us to face the day with better prospects than yesterday".

He added: "This is the first day we will be able to mount a direct attack on the fire. Until now, weather conditions and the behaviour of the blaze only allowed us to work defensively."

Lucinda Curtois, who arrived in Spain with her partner Riyaz Cheytan and their teenage children for a holiday on Thursday, 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 told the BBC she feared at least two other UK nationals had been killed.

"They left their home on foot, I don't know why," she said. "I can only presume it was probably because their road was cut off because they live out in the countryside."

Officials in Bedar said some of those who had died had not taken a recommended evacuation route - but it's not clear how well that guidance was conveyed.

Neither the Spanish authorities - nor the Foreign Office in London - have revealed the identity of the deceased.

Sanz said the rapid fire had been complex and the majority or even all of the victims may have been foreign nationals.

Belgian Foreign Minister Maxime Prévot said many Belgians had second homes in the country 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 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 north-eastern Spain.

Wildfires have also plagued France over the summer months.

On Monday over 10,000 people were evacuated from their homes in the foothills of the French Pyrenees.

But in a social media post on Saturday French Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez said 32 people had been arrested on suspicion of starting some of the fires.

"These unacceptable behaviours, which lead to disastrous consequences and put our firefighters' lives at risk, will now be brought before the courts," he said.

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.

Additional reporting by Dearbail Jordan

Have you been affected by the wildfires and extreme heat in Southern Europe? If it is safe to do so, get in touch.