Several foreign nationals among victims of deadly Spain wildfire
A wildfire in Spain's southeastern province of Almeria has killed 13 people, including five Britons, three Belgians, one French national, and one Spanish citizen.
Spanish authorities announced on Monday that among the 13 victims of one of the deadliest wildfires in recent years are five British, three Belgian, one French, and one Spanish national. The fire, which broke out on Thursday, has turned picturesque rural settlements into ghost towns in the southeastern province of Almeria, home to many foreign residents near the Mediterranean coast.
Emergency services initially recovered 12 bodies so badly disfigured by flames that genetic samples were needed for identification. A technical body responsible for identification announced the nationalities of nine victims on Monday, including a Spanish man and his British wife. Later, three more victims were identified: three Britons, three Belgians, and a French woman. Three victims remain unidentified.
British, Belgian, and French consular staff are assisting in providing genetic profiles from relatives, which experts say may allow identification of all victims in a short time. Authorities caution that the number of missing remains uncertain until autopsies and body identifications are completed.
Firefighters continue working to extinguish the fire, which has scorched about 7,000 hectares (17,300 acres) of forest and scrubland. Calmer winds and cooler temperatures helped tame the blaze over the weekend, allowing some 1,500 evacuated residents to return home. Juanma Moreno, leader of Andalusia's regional government, said the wildfire is now under control, with crews working to fully extinguish it.
The inferno spread at up to 100 meters (330 feet) per minute at its peak, trapping victims in their vehicles or on foot as they tried to flee. Authorities have suggested some victims may not have heeded warnings in time. The wildfire is suspected to have started when a power line broke, igniting vegetation parched after hot weather that pushed temperatures above 40°C.
Scientists say climate change caused by human burning of fossil fuels is making extreme weather events like heatwaves, which contribute to wildfires, more likely and more intense. Deadly wildfires devoured almost 400,000 hectares of land in Spain last year, the highest figure recorded for the country by the European Forest Fire Information System.
