At least 12 people have died trying to outrun a wildfire tearing through southern Spain, and 23 more are still missing as firefighters fight one of the deadliest blazes the country has seen. Authorities said Friday the toll could still climb as search operations continue.
The fire started in Los Gallardos, in Almería, a few kilometres inland from the Mediterranean coast. Officials called it one of the most destructive the region has ever faced.
Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez offered condolences to the victims’ families, saying he felt “enormous sadness and devastation.”
Most victims believed to be foreign nationals
Andalusia’s regional president, Juanma Moreno, told a news conference Friday that at least 23 people remain unaccounted for. Regional authorities said most, if not all, of those who died were foreign nationals living in the area, and media reports suggested the toll could rise further.
Four victims were found inside a single vehicle — officials believe they were British nationals, based on the car’s right-hand drive. The rest of the dead were part of a separate group.
Victims were not on the official evacuation route
Andalusia’s emergencies minister, Antonio Sanz, said the people who died had been trying to flee the village but got trapped by the advancing flames after they didn’t follow the evacuation route authorities had laid out.
“The consequences have been terrible,” Sanz said.
Seven more victims were found after apparently abandoning their vehicles and trying to escape on foot, along a route that wasn’t part of the official plan.
Not everyone on the missing list may be dead, though officials noted some of the 23 could simply be sheltering with relatives or friends, uncontactable rather than lost. One Spaniard is also confirmed among the victims.
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The region is popular with tourists and has a sizeable expat community, including people from France, the UK and Belgium.
Extreme heat behind the risk
Spain’s wildfire season started early this year after summer heatwaves left much of the country dry and primed to burn. Data from the European Forest Fire Information System shows around 57,000 hectares (140,850 acres) have burned in Spain so far in 2026 about half the country’s typical annual average over the past two decades, but still 40% of everything burned across the EU this year.
VIDEO | A wildfire killed 12 people in Almeria in southern Spain as soaring temperatures gripped much of the country, Spanish authorities said Friday.
— Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) July 10, 2026
Several victims of the Los Gallardos fire were found inside burnt-out vehicles, local media reported. Some 150 firefighters were… pic.twitter.com/VzF73H70H2
Last year was worse. Spain had its worst wildfire season in three decades after an August heatwave burned through 330,000 hectares, an area roughly twice the size of London.
UK in contact with Spanish authorities
As authorities work to identify the dead and track down the missing, relatives around the world have been posting appeals on social media and in local community forums, trying to get information.
The UK’s Foreign Office confirmed it’s in contact with Spanish authorities following reports that four British nationals may be among the dead.
“I’m aware of those reports, and the Foreign Office are in touch with the relevant authorities in Spain,” a No. 10 spokeswoman said. The EU’s Copernicus Climate Change Service has said Europe is warming faster than any other continent on Earth — more than twice the global average.
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