At least 12 people were killed in a forest fire that broke out on Thursday in Los Gallardos municipality in Almeria province in Spain’s southern Andalusia region, broadcaster RTVE reported.
According to Andalusia’s emergency services, the victims were found in a hamlet of the neighbouring municipality of Bedar, with some discovered inside vehicles engulfed by the flames.
Antonio Sanz, Andalusia’s acting minister for Health, the Presidency and Emergencies, described the blaze as “the fire with the greatest consequences to date” in the region and called it an “unprecedented tragedy.”
Authorities raised the region’s wildfire response plan to the emergency phase as the fire continued to spread, while Spain’s Military Emergency Unit (UME) deployed 150 personnel to reinforce firefighting efforts.
