Spanish wildfire victims died trapped in riverbed 'trap'

A devastating wildfire in southern Spain has claimed at least 12 lives, with harrowing accounts emerging of victims caught in a dry riverbed while attempting to flee the flames. The blaze, raging near the town of Los Gallardos in the popular tourist region of Costa de Almería, forced the evacuation of over 1,400 residents.

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The most devastating fire to date in our region.

More than 460 emergency workers are engaged in battling the fire, which Spanish Interior Minister Fernando Grande-Marlaska described as the most devastating to date in the region. The extreme heatwave gripping Europe, which has seen temperature records shattered, is exacerbating the wildfire crisis across Spain, Portugal, and France.

Antonio Sanz, the regional minister for health and emergencies, revealed that some victims were trapped in a dry riverbed, a "deadly trap" that led to their demise. Seven people died on foot, and four perished in a vehicle. Sanz indicated that most of the victims were likely foreign nationals, a detail later confirmed by Grande-Marlaska. The mayor of Los Gallardos, Francisco Reyes, conveyed the terrifying conditions, citing strong winds that caused the fire to spread with alarming speed.

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Everything suggests that the victims were mostly, if not entirely, foreign nationals, though naturally this cannot be confirmed until their identities are officially established.

The fire has consumed over 3,000 hectares, according to Fernando Ojeda, a professor at the University of Cádiz. The rapid spread, driven by strong westerly winds, threatened further evacuations, including a campsite housing hundreds of people. Relatives of the missing have taken to social media to express their fears as authorities work to identify the deceased and account for the unaccounted.

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The situation was terrifying because there is a lot of wind and the fire has spread very quickly.