'Really frightening, unbelievably quick': Witnesses describe fleeing deadly Spain wildfire

A devastating wildfire in southern Spain has claimed at least 12 lives, with 23 people still missing as emergency services battle to contain the blaze. The fire erupted Thursday afternoon in the Los Gallardos area of Almería, with officials suspecting an electricity pole falling in woodland sparked the inferno.

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Within 15 minutes there was a tiny bit of haze, to black smoke, to flames. It was really frightening and unbelievably quick.

Eyewitnesses recounted harrowing experiences, describing the fire's "unbelievably quick" spread and comparing the devastation to "a bomb has fallen" on the municipality. Lucinda Curtois and Riyaz Cheytan, who arrived in Spain for a holiday on Thursday, were in their pool when neighbors alerted them to an evacuation notice. Within 15 minutes, they witnessed the scene transform from a haze to black smoke and then flames.

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We turned the corner and all of a sudden the fire was there, there were two coaches of people evacuating too.

"It was really frightening and unbelievably quick," Curtois told the BBC. The family attempted to flee by car but were forced to find an alternative route as the fire rapidly advanced. Cheytan described the scene as resembling a "mushroom cloud of smoke," likening it to a bomb detonation.

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it was almost like there was a mushroom cloud of smoke, it was like a bomb had gone off

While the family reached a hotel, concerns remain for friends who attempted to evacuate on foot and are now among the missing. Another British resident, Peter Chapman, initially mistook the darkening sky for an approaching storm before noticing the smell of smoke. He compared the surreal experience to descriptions of the London bombings during World War II. Many locals have been displaced, with residents offering spare rooms and hospitality to those affected by the disaster.

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The only way I can describe it is by thinking of how my mother used to describe the London bombings during the Second World War. It was surreal.