Wildfires in southern Spain kill 12, leave 23 missing in what may be worst-ever toll

Firefighters battle a large wildfire in Andalusia, southern Spain. [AFP]

A major wildfire that swept through Andalusia in southern Spain on Thursday has left 12 dead and 23 missing, with the toll continuing to rise, Reuters and other foreign media reported Saturday.

Juan Manuel Moreno, head of the Andalusian regional government, said the fire has so far killed 12 people, left 23 missing and injured 8 others.

About 1,400 residents have been evacuated from their homes, and the fire has burned through 4,000 hectares (40 square kilometers) of land.

The identities of the 12 victims, whose autopsies have been completed, have yet to be confirmed, but authorities believe most are foreign nationals. Officials said four of the victims were found together in a vehicle with a right-hand-drive configuration, suggesting they are likely British nationals.

Eight other victims died after abandoning their vehicles and attempting to flee along a dry riverbed. Authorities believe the rapidly spreading flames turned the riverbed into a deadly trap within moments.

Andalusia's emergency authorities said many of the victims appear to have ignored official instructions to shelter in place, instead attempting to flee or straying from designated evacuation routes.

Firefighters work to contain a wildfire near Bédar in the Los Gallardos district of Almería province, Spain. [AFP]

Authorities in Bédar, the village where most of the victims lived, said they went door to door immediately after the fire broke out, either evacuating residents or instructing them to stay indoors depending on conditions at the time.

The village of Bédar itself sustained relatively little damage from the fire.

"This type of wildfire can change direction in an instant depending on the wind," Moreno said. "Please follow the instructions of the authorities."

The fire broke out in a mountainous area near Los Gallardos in Andalusia during a record heat wave and was triggered by a downed power line on a nearby highway.

Spain has seen a rise in large summer wildfires in recent years as heat waves, strong winds and dry conditions increasingly converge. The deadliest wildfire in Spanish history on record was a 1979 blaze in Lloret de Mar, a coastal town about an hour north of Barcelona, which killed 21 people.

mokiya@heraldcorp.com