Almeria, Spain. Twelve people were killed in a wildfire in Almeria in southern Spain, while 150 firefighters were working to put out the blaze, the Emergency Agency of Andalucía said early on Friday. Authorities described the fire as an unprecedented tragedy and the most devastating in the region to date.
Authorities report rising death toll
The Emergency Agency of Andalucía said the wildfire had killed 12 people. Earlier reports had put the death toll at six.
Antonio Sanz, Minister of the Presidency, Health, and Emergencies, called the fire “the most devastating fire to date in our region” and described the situation as an “unprecedented tragedy”.
Regional response
Juanma Moreno, the leader of Spain’s southern Andalusia region, had earlier expressed condolences after reports of six deaths.
“Our deepest condolences to the families of the six people who lost their lives in the Los Gallardos and the affection from all of us to the municipalities affected by the fire,” Moreno wrote in a post on X.
Los Gallardos is a municipality in Almería province in the southern Spanish region of Andalusia.
Wider wildfire conditions in Europe
The blaze followed a wildfire in southern France earlier this week that forced the evacuation of more than 10,000 people from two dozen small towns and villages near the Spanish border.
Early summer heatwaves across western Europe in May and June have parched large areas of land, making them particularly vulnerable to wildfires this year.
The World Meteorological Organization has said Europe is warming at more than twice the global average, increasing the likelihood of prolonged heat episodes.