Wildfires tear through Europe amid sweltering heatwaves as dozens remain missing in Spain after deaths surged by nearly a third in France

Europe battles devastating wildfires as scorching temperatures continue to rise; France is recording a sharp rise in heat-related deaths, while Spain is experiencing one of the deadliest fires in decades.

At least four Britons were among the 12 people killed in a bushfire in a remote migrant community in southern Spain on Thursday night; Victims died trying to escape the flames in cars and on foot.

Eight more people were injured and 23 people remain missing after a fire broke out late Thursday in Bedar, near Almeria on Spain’s southeast coast.

Six Britons were among those whose names were not disclosed, prompting British families to take to social media to ask for help finding their missing loved ones.

According to a local journalist, Bedar has one of the highest concentrations of British people in Spain. According to 2022 statistics, 447 of the 1,009 people living there are British citizens.

Antonio Sanz, head of Andalusia’s emergency services, said most of the victims died after ignoring shelter instructions before attempting to escape.

It is thought that the majority of those who lost their lives were foreign nationals.

Mr Sanz said some were trying to escape from the dry river bed, which had ‘turned into a death trap’, and the death toll was expected to rise as search operations continued.

People were evacuated from the municipality of El Pocico in Almeria, Spain, on Friday.

Authorities believe four of the victims found in a burned-out right-hand drive vehicle were British.

‘Everything seems to point to them being from Britain,’ Mr Sanz said. However, these have not yet been officially defined.

Meanwhile, 7 people who abandoned their vehicles and tried to escape on foot lost their lives.

Dean Taylor, who spends his time between Spain and England, said he narrowly escaped the fires by using roads outside the region.

‘It was pretty scary,’ he said. ‘Isn’t it a very sad day? “This is truly devastating.”

The fire was still burning Friday afternoon as about 150 firefighters and 220 soldiers from Spain’s military emergency unit battled to control the blaze.

The cause of the fire has not been confirmed, but those who reported it claimed that a downed power line sparked a fire that quickly spread into a nearby forest.

More than 7,900 acres of forest and farmland have already been destroyed by difficult terrain and dry vegetation, fueling the flames that Andalusia’s regional leader, Juan Manuel Moreno, has described as a “ticking time bomb”.

Danielle Gillam-Kirton, from Sheffield, posted a photo of her parents, Pete and Fran Gillam, on Facebook as British families took to social media to ask for help finding missing loved ones.

The blaze is one of the deadliest in Spain in recent years and comes as Europe continues to grapple with another intense summer heatwave, with temperatures regularly exceeding 40 degrees.

In June, Spain recorded several days of exceptional temperatures, with more than 1,000 deaths due to high temperatures.

Elsewhere in France, deaths rose by almost a third in the hottest week of June on record.

According to official figures, more than 2,000 deaths were recorded in the country during the June heat wave and more than 300 deaths in the scorching heat in May.

The country faces its third heat wave since May, with temperatures reaching 40C in western and central parts of the country and as high as 37C in Paris.

In response to the scorching heat, the French government announced on Friday that it would open ‘cooling centres’ for vulnerable citizens, including the elderly and the homeless.

French authorities have warned that the risk of wildfires is very high after massive fires this week burned thousands of hectares of land in the south, disrupting the Tour de France and straining firefighting resources.

The largest fire in the Pyrenees-Orientales, near the Spanish border, eased on Friday but has already blazed nearly 12,000 acres and forced the temporary evacuation of more than 10,000 people from nearby villages.

The fire is one of Spain’s deadliest in recent years and comes as Europe continues to grapple with another intense summer heatwave (Image: El Pocico in Almeria, Spain)

As the fire in Almeria, Spain, was still burning Friday afternoon, about 150 firefighters and 220 soldiers from Spain’s military emergency unit battled to bring it under control.

The evacuated village of Barsac, in France’s southeastern Drôme region, was covered in heavy smoke on Wednesday. The flames spread to the next day and 250 residents had to leave their homes.

“We had a meeting at the community center around 9pm and they told us we had to evacuate the building because of the smoke,” winegrower Emilien told Le Monde.

‘We looked for somewhere to stay, I packed a few things and by 11pm everyone had left.’ He’s been sleeping in his car ever since.

Climate change, driven in part by the burning of fossil fuels including coal, oil and gas, is increasing the frequency and intensity of extreme heat and prolonged dry conditions, leaving many regions more vulnerable to devastating fires, scientists say.

Spain has long suffered devastating forest fires. According to the European Forest Fire Information System, almost 1,520 square miles burned during last year’s fire season; this area was roughly twice the size of London. Four people died.

The deadliest forest fire recorded in Spain occurred in 1979 near Lloret de Mar, north of Barcelona, ​​killing 21 people.

In neighboring Portugal, the 2017 Pedrogao Grande wildfire killed 66 people, including 47 who were trapped on the road trying to escape in their cars.

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez wrote to X that he was “deeply saddened and devastated by the terrible consequences of the forest fire.”

He said in May that Spain would carry out its biggest summer bushfire response so far this year.