Four Britons found dead in their car are among 11 people killed in a wildfire in Almeria, Spain, officials have said. There are growing fears that other British nationals died while attempting to flee the area.

Antonio Sanz, Andalucia’s Regional Minister for Health, the Presidency and Emergencies, confirmed the deaths early this morning.

He said: ‘Unfortunately, the decision of some people to take evacuation routes that weren’t those indicated by the emergency services and take an alternative route became a mortal trap.

There were two scenarios like that specifically. One was a vehicle in which four people died, with everything pointing to them being of British origin.

‘Then another seven people died in another scenario. They were walking and had abandoned their cars and were probably looking for a way out. But they had taken a route which wasn’t the one indicated by the emergency services and the consequences have been terrible.’

In a subsequent press address, Sanz said the seven people on foot could also include British nationals.

He said: ‘In that second scenario there were nine people and two managed to save themselves but seven died.

‘One appears to have been Spanish and the seven others could be foreigners, Belgians and British nationals.’

Sanz stressed that it is a ‘terrible, very complex fire in an area with many scattered houses and homes embedded in a forest area with a very high rate of spread.’

‘Everything seems to indicate that, in the case of the dead, the majority – or all of them – are foreign nationals,’ Sanz said.

An emergency worker looks on during a wildfire in Almeria, Spain

Spain’s Military Emergency Unit (UME), which is deployed in major emergencies, was due to join firefighting efforts in the coming hours

Smoke and flames rise during a wildfire in Los Gallardos, Spain

The wildfire comes as Spain swelters in a heatwave, with scorching temperatures triggering orange weather warnings

 150 firefighters are working to put out the blaze in Bedar, Almeria, the Emergency Agency of Andalucía said early on Friday.

The fire injured at least six people, four of whom have suffered ‘serious’ burns and another person with smoke inhalation, who were taken to hospital.

Fear was growing Friday morning that the death toll could rise considerably as regional president Juanma Moreno confirmed 19 people were still unaccounted for.

One Brit living in Scotland posted on X overnight: ‘My dad is in hospital. His house in Bedar has been evacuated and his cat is trapped inside.’

He went on to post the address in the hope that rescue teams and Civil Protection workers would see his message and respond.

A spokesman for the Civil Guard in Almeria said this morning: ‘The Civil Guard has set up an office at the Garrucha Civil Guard Station in Almeria to receive reports from the families of people missing after the fire that occurred yesterday afternoon in Los Gallardos.

‘The top priority is to identify the missing persons and collect the necessary DNA samples in order to identify the victims as quickly as possible.

‘For this reason, the Civil Guard is calling on the immediate family members of those missing in this incident to go to one of these offices so that the identification process can be expedited.’

Forest firefighter Roman Garcia reacted to news 19 people were unaccounted for by saying: ‘It’s possible those people could be inside the fire perimeter and emergency responders haven’t reached them yet.’

‘Firefighters don’t cross the flames, they try to control them from outside. We hope that if there are people inside that perimeter that those tackling the blaze haven’t been able to reach, that they’ve managed to protect themselves.’

Sanz called the deaths ‘an unprecedented tragedy’, adding in the statement that ‘the pain is immense’.

Witnesses told authorities the blaze may have started after a power line fell, igniting dry vegetation before spreading rapidly through surrounding woodland. Authorities have not confirmed the cause of the fire.

Roads were closed and residents evacuated as the inferno spread, with about 50 people housed in a cultural centre.

The origin of the accident, which prompted more than 150 emergency calls, is located on a road in the area.

Spain’s Military Emergency Unit (UME), which is deployed in major emergencies, was due to join firefighting efforts in the coming hours.

‘The fire situation is complex. It’s a fire in a very large ravine that machinery hasn’t been able to reach, with no access points. The topography is extremely difficult,’ explained Sanz

‘The updated fire perimeter is estimated at about 3,150 hectares burned. During our response to this fire, we have had a large number of personnel on the ground – 464 firefighters with 124 vehicles.

‘[There are] 21 firefighting stations, comprising of 150 firefighters, 9 trucks, 18 operations technicians, and environmental agents,’ he said.

The fire injured at least six people, including a woman who suffered burns and another person with smoke inhalation

Witnesses told authorities the blaze may have started after a power line fell, igniting dry vegetation

Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez wrote on X that he was ‘deeply saddened and devastated by the terrible consequences of the wildfire’.

He said in May that Spain would deploy its largest-ever summer wildfire response this year.

The head of the regional government of Andalusia, Juanma Moreno, called the blaze ‘a tragedy’. ‘Our hearts are heavy and we are devastated by grief,’ he wrote on X.

The wildfire comes as Spain swelters in a heatwave, with scorching temperatures triggering orange weather warnings – the second highest level – across parts of Andalusia in recent days.

Spain has experienced increasingly frequent and prolonged heatwaves in recent years, with temperatures often exceeding 40C, creating conditions for major wildfires.

The country registered its third-warmest year on record in 2025, with 25 single-day heat records set during the period, national weather agency AEMET said.

Earlier this month, hundreds of firefighters battled a wildfire that raged near the popular Mediterranean tourist destination of Costa Brava and forced thousands to stay indoors.

Strong winds whipped up the fire and prompted regional authorities to urge residents of 10 municipalities to remain at home, including at the popular Platja d’Aro beach resort.

Deadly wildfires devoured almost 400,000 hectares of land last year, the highest figure recorded for the country by the European Forest Fire Information System.