A wildfire that ripped through a hamlet in southern Spain has killed 12 people, authorities say, as a heatwave stifles swathes of the country.<\/p>\n
Some of the dead in Bedar, Almeria province, were found in vehicles, the regional government said in a statement, revising an earlier toll of six dead.<\/p>\n
Wildfires devastate European forests<\/a><\/p>\n Firefighters have been battling forest infernos in heatwave-scarred Europe, as temperatures rise again.<\/p>\n About 150 firefighters backed by five fire trucks battled the blaze, which broke out as temperatures neared 40 degrees Celsius.<\/p>\n The fire injured at least six people, including a woman who suffered burns and another person with smoke inhalation. They were taken to hospital.<\/p>\n Authorities raised the death toll to 12 “after the confirmation of six more deaths in the area of the fire,” the Andalusia government said in a statement.<\/p>\n Regional emergency chief Antonio Sanz called the deaths “an unprecedented tragedy” and said the the pain was “immense”.<\/p>\n Witnesses told authorities that the blaze may have started after a powerline fell, igniting dry vegetation before spreading rapidly through surrounding woodland.<\/p>\n Authorities have not confirmed the cause of the fire.<\/p>\n Roads were closed and residents evacuated as the inferno spread. About 50 people were housed in a cultural centre.<\/p>\n Spain’s Military Emergencies Unit (UME), which is deployed in major emergencies, was expected to join the firefighting efforts.<\/p>\n Frequent heatwaves<\/p>\n Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez wrote on X that he was “deeply saddened and devastated by the terrible consequences of the wildfire”.<\/p>\n He said in May that Spain would deploy its largest-ever summer wildfire response this year.<\/p>\n The head of the government of Andalusia, Juanma Moreno, called the blaze “a tragedy”.<\/p>\n