Eleven killed, 19 missing in one of Spain’s deadliest wildfires

Reuters:  

LOS GALLARDOS, Spain, July 10  – At least 11 people died attempting to flee a wildfire in southern Spain, ‌and 19 were missing, with firefighters on Friday still battling to bring one of the country’s deadliest blazes on record under control.

Most of the victims appeared to be foreign nationals who ignored instructions to shelter in place and decided to try to flee in their cars, said Antonio Sanz, head of emergencies in the Andalusia region.

The flames had spread extremely rapidly in a ​wooded area around the town of Los Gallardos in Almeria province, a popular holiday destination.

Four people, who appeared to be British because the steering ​wheel of their car was on the right-hand side, died in one vehicle, he said. Seven others were found dead ⁠after apparently abandoning their cars and attempting to escape on foot along a route that was not part of the evacuation plan.

“The consequences have been terrible. ​Everything seems to indicate that, in the case of the dead, the majority – or all of them – are foreign nationals,” Sanz said.

The circumstances resemble those in neighbouring ​Portugal in June 2017, when a huge wildfire during a heatwave killed more than 60 people and injured dozens more, with half of the victims burned to death in their cars as they tried to flee.