At least 12 people have been killed after a forest fire tore through Spain’s southern Andalusia region on Thursday, prompting a major emergency response as firefighters battled to contain the blaze.
According to broadcaster RTVE, the victims were found in a hamlet in Bedar, near the municipality of Los Gallardos in Almeria province. Several of the victims were discovered inside vehicles that had been engulfed by the flames.
Describing the disaster as “the fire with the greatest consequences to date” in the region, Andalusia’s acting minister for Health, the Presidency and Emergencies, Antonio Sanz, called it “an unprecedented tragedy.”
Authorities elevated the region’s wildfire response to its highest emergency phase, while Spain’s Military Emergency Unit deployed 150 personnel to assist firefighting operations. The blaze also forced the closure of two major roads in the province.
In a separate incident, around 1,000 residents were evacuated after another wildfire broke out in the southern province of Malaga. Nearly 180 emergency personnel remain on the ground as efforts continue to bring the fire under control.