Wildfire in Almería Kills at Least 11, 19 Missing

A wildfire in the municipality of Los Gallardos, in the province of Almería, has claimed the lives of at least 11 people. This was reported by Juanma Moreno, president of the regional government of Andalusia. Another 19 people are listed as missing, and the final death toll may rise. The fire began on Thursday evening and forced the evacuation of several towns in the Levante Almeriense area.

How the Fire Started

The fire was spotted around 4:35 PM on Thursday in the Almocáizar area, from where the flames quickly spread to woodland near residential neighbourhoods. Andalusia's regional president, Juanma Moreno, confirmed that the fire was caused by a fallen power line. Wind gusting up to 70 kilometres per hour and dry vegetation accelerated the fire's spread, and by Friday morning, the burned area had reached approximately 3,150 hectares.

The authorities activated the INFOCA plan and raised it to level two, the highest emergency level. The Military Emergency Unit has joined the firefighting effort. By Friday morning, more than 500 people and 16 helicopters were involved in putting out the fire, and firefighters from Almería had also been deployed, Moreno said.

Deaths and Injuries

Some of the dead were found in vehicles that had burned completely, and the rest on the ground near the bed of a dried-up river. According to Antonio Sanz, Andalusia's regional minister of health and emergencies, those who died had strayed from the route designated by the emergency services and tried to get out via improvised paths. This route, he said, turned into a deadly trap when the flames caught up with them.

Four people suffered serious burns and are expected to be airlifted by helicopter to the Virgen del Rocío hospital in Seville from the Torrecárdenas hospital in Almería, where four others with less severe injuries are also being treated.

Sanz asked residents to exercise maximum caution, to avoid the affected areas, and not to take routes bypassing the official evacuation paths without direct instructions from the authorities. He called it "the most destructive fire to date" (in terms of the number of victims) in the region, and described the situation as an "unprecedented tragedy."

Evacuation

Residents were evacuated from the fire zone in Almocáizar, Fuente del Albaricoque, Los Pinos, La Serena, and the Pinar de Bédar area, as well as guests at a tourist complex and a campsite — around 1,000 people in total, according to the emergency services. The main road out of Bédar was cut off by the fire, making it impossible to use the buses arranged in advance and forcing some evacuees to be sent to nearby Lubrín instead.

Around a thousand people were housed in sports pavilions in Garrucha and Mojácar, 54 people in the Los Gallardos Performing Arts Centre, where Red Cross volunteers are assisting them, and around a hundred in the municipal theatre and the Lubrín industrial estate, where residents brought food and water.

A psychological support hotline has been set up for relatives of the dead and injured: 677 904 624 — the line is staffed by the Psychological Assistance Group for Emergencies and Disasters.

Spain's Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez, as well as King Felipe VI and Queen Letizia, have expressed their condolences to the victims' families.