23 people are still missing from the wildfire raging near Los Gallardos in southern Spain. 12 deaths and eight injuries have now been reported. Four injured people are in serious condition.

It is the deadliest wildfire in Andalusia since wildfire death tolls have been recorded. The emergency services found the dead at two different locations. In one place the victims were still in a car.

According to acting Minister of Health and Emergency Situations Sanz, they were caught by the fire, which spread extremely quickly, the Spanish newspaper writes El Pais(opens in new window).

According to the minister, these are probably foreigners who took a different route than the planned evacuation route. The victims wanted to flee the fire via a dried up riverbed, but were overtaken by the fire.

British killed, Belgians missing

El País writes that the authorities suspect that in one case they were British, because the steering wheel was on the right. There were four people in the car. The mayor of the village of Bedar, one of the affected places, also says that British and Belgians are among the victims. “I have married some of them,” the mayor said at a press conference.

The other group consisted of nine suspected hikers, two of whom were rescued. In that group, one person had Spanish nationality, the others were tourists or foreigners living in Spain. The twelfth victim was found near this group.

Belgian Foreign Minister Prévot confirms that Belgians are missing. The consular services are doing everything they can to contact them, he writes on X(opens in new window). Many Belgians have a house in the region.

No Dutch reported

The Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs has not received any reports that there are Dutch people among the victims. “But we are monitoring the situation,” a spokesperson said.

The Spanish military police are still busy with searches to find the missing persons. So far there have been no reports of further casualties. The European Commission has activated the Copernicus satellite service to allow Spanish authorities to map the spread of the wildfire.

Minister Sanz urges people to listen to the instructions of the emergency services, either staying where they are or following the official evacuation routes.

Power cable disconnected

According to Spanish media, the fire may have been caused by a loose power cable. The extremely dry ground then caught fire, after which the fire spread quickly.

The Spanish electricity company Endesa has announced that the cable in question does not belong to their network, El País reports. The company had sent technicians to the site. They suspected that there was no tension on the cables. It concerns an electricity cable from a restaurant that had been empty for decades and no longer received power after 2009, the newspaper writes.

The fire has still not been extinguished. According to Minister Sanz, the extinguishing work is made more difficult by the terrain. There are houses everywhere in the area, El País quotes the politician.

About 150 firefighters are fighting the fire. 220 soldiers from the Spanish military emergency services are also helping. Several roads are closed.

Spanish Prime Minister Sánchez has expressed his condolences to the relatives of the victims. He speaks in one message X(opens in new window) about “tremendous sadness and dejection” and calls on people to be careful.

Helpline opened

The Spanish royal family has also responded to the fires. The king and queen express their condolences in a message social media(opens in new window) their condolences to the families and relatives of the victims.

The regional government has opened a telephone helpline for people affected. Three days of official mourning have been declared for the twelve deaths.