At least 12 killed as Spain battles one of its deadliest wildfires
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Bedar (Spain): Hundreds of firefighters continued battling pockets of flames in southeastern Spain on Saturday after one of the country's deadliest wildfires claimed at least 12 lives, with another 23 people still missing.
Emergency services remain deployed around the village of Bedar in Almería province, where the victims were found. Spanish authorities said four of the dead are believed to be British, while local officials warned the death toll could rise amid fears that more foreign nationals may have been caught in the blaze.
The wildfire erupted late on Thursday near the Sierra de Los Filabres mountains as Spain endured an intense heatwave, with temperatures reaching around 40 degrees Celsius. Fuelled by extreme heat, dry vegetation and strong winds, the fire spread rapidly across the region.
Andalusia's Health and Emergencies Minister Antonio Sanz said the blaze has scorched around 6,600 hectares (16,300 acres) of land.
Authorities initially suggested that a fallen power line may have sparked the fire, although local electricity companies have denied responsibility.
No further details have been released about the four victims found inside a burnt-out vehicle.
Officials said lighter winds and increased humidity had improved firefighting conditions, but the sheer scale of the blaze continued to hamper containment efforts.
The wildfire forced the evacuation of 1,448 residents from 11 areas. Firefighters also carried out controlled burns overnight to prevent the flames from spreading further.
Authorities believe most of the victims, thought to be foreign nationals, died after ignoring shelter-in-place instructions. Seven people reportedly died on foot after abandoning their vehicles while attempting to flee.
Regional officials said the four people found in the burnt-out car are believed to be British because the vehicle had a right-hand steering wheel. Sanz said autopsies had been completed and DNA samples collected to confirm the victims' identities.
Among those evacuated were Jeffrey and Christine Kember, who escaped from their farmhouse in Los Pinos after a warning siren alerted them to the approaching flames.
Jeffrey Kember said the couple fled in separate vehicles while trying to help a neighbour with two toddlers and became separated during the evacuation.
"I was driving through the flames. It was actually flames. I thought, I can't stop, I just have to keep going. Then suddenly I came out into bright sunshine. It felt surreal," he said.
Spanish authorities have also arrested two people for allegedly ignoring evacuation orders and returning to a high-risk area, according to the country's official EFE news agency.
Search operations are continuing in the Bedar area for possible additional victims.
Justice Minister Felix Bolanos described the wildfire as a consequence of the "climate emergency", saying the flames spread at speeds of up to 100 metres per minute at their peak.
Spain has experienced increasingly frequent and severe heatwaves in recent years, with temperatures regularly exceeding 40 degrees Celsius. Combined with prolonged drought and strong winds, these conditions have significantly increased the risk of fast-moving wildfires.
In June alone, Spain recorded several days of record-breaking heat and more than 1,000 excess deaths linked to high temperatures.
Across Europe, extreme heat and wildfires have continued to intensify. The European Union's Copernicus Climate Change Service has said Europe is the world's fastest-warming continent, with temperatures rising at twice the global average since the 1980s. Parts of Western Europe have experienced their third heatwave in six weeks, while 2025 was recorded as the third-hottest year globally.