Deadly wildfire sweeps southern Spain, leaving 12 dead

A devastating wildfire has killed 12 people in Almeria in southern Spain with 150 firefighters working to put out the blaze, according to details revealed by the emergency agency of Andalucia on Friday.

Some of the victims were found inside vehicles which had been devoured by fire. According to witnesses, the fire was caused by a downed power line with the blaze spreading quickly to a nearby wooded area.

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At present, authorities have not identified the actual cause of the fire. Given the gravity of the situation, the Minister of the Presidency Health and Emergencies Antonio Sanz called the fire “ the most devastating fire to date in our region.”

Juanma Moreno, the leader of Spain’s southern Australian region wrote in a post on X, “ 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 municipalities affected by the fire.”

The World Meteorological Organization has said that Europe is warming more than twice the global average, making extreme heatwaves increasingly likely. It has been observed that continuous hot weather with temperatures of around 40C has caused wildfires across southern Europe.

Early summer heatwaves across western Europe in May and June have left plains drought-sicken, making them specifically vulnerable to wildfires this year.

The Spain Military Emergency Unit (UME) has deployed major emergencies, and said it would join firefighting efforts in Los Gallardos. Experts cautioned that more frequent and severe fires across Europe are likely to continue in the future. It is pertinent to mention here that Spain reached its highest daily average since 1950, living through unprecedented heat for that month.