Four British nationals are feared dead after their burnt-out car was discovered in the path of a wildfire that has killed at least 11 people in southern Spain. The car, with its steering wheel on the right-hand side, was found near the village of Bédar in Almería, Andalusia. Antonio Sanz, the region's health and emergencies minister, said those inside were believed to be 'of British origin.'
The fire, which has left 23 people missing and eight injured, was apparently sparked by a fallen power cable. Some 150 firefighters and 220 soldiers from Spain's military emergency unit are battling the blaze, which forced more than 600 people to evacuate in Los Gallardos. Seven of the dead are thought to be foreign tourists who abandoned their cars and tried to escape on foot through the rugged hills. Sanz said the victims were caught off guard by the 'very fast-moving fire, with an extremely high rate of spread.' He added: 'The decision to take another route instead of the designated evacuation route became a fatal trap.'
“Four Britons are among 11 killed in a Spanish wildfire, found in a right-hand drive burnt-out car.”
The southern province remains under an alert as the region endures a heatwave similar to the UK, with temperatures topping 30C for weeks. Bone-dry conditions and winds have hampered firefighting efforts. Authorities initially reported 12 dead but revised the figure down to 11 on Friday morning. Andalusia's regional leader, Juan Manuel Moreno, told the Cadena Ser radio station that 19 people remain unaccounted for. The search continues as the blaze, one of the deadliest on record in Spain, shows no sign of abating.