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Emergency services in south-eastern Spain are working to contain pockets of fire after one of the country’s worst ever wildfires. Hundreds of firefighters and other specialists have been deployed around the village of Bedar where 12 people have been killed – among them four Britons, according to Spanish authorities.

Antonio Sanz, Andalusia’s health and emergencies minister, said the rapid fire was complex and the majority or even all of the victims may have been foreign nationals. Belgian Foreign Minister Maxime Prévot said many Belgians had second homes in the country and consular services were trying to contact “Belgians with whom they have not been able to get in touch”.

Soaring temperatures, incredibly dry ground, and powerful winds led to the Los Gallardos fire spreading quickly on Thursday afternoon. The cause of the fire has been put down to a fallen power line, but local electricity companies have denied this was the cause.

Lucinda Curtois, who arrived in Spain with her partner Riyaz Cheytan and their teenage children for a holiday on Thursday, described their escape from Bedar. “It was almost like there was a mushroom cloud of smoke, it was like a bomb had gone off,” she said. Curtois feared at least two other UK nationals had been killed.

The Los Gallardos area is home to many foreign residents; officials in Bedar said some of those who had died had not taken a recommended evacuation route – but it’s not clear how well that guidance was conveyed.

Climate change is driving up temperatures around the world, and Europe is the fastest warming continent, heating up twice as fast as the global average, according to the Copernicus climate service. This is causing increased summer heatwaves, greater pressure on Europe’s water supply, and more intense wildfires.

“It was almost like there was a mushroom cloud of smoke, it was like a bomb had gone off,” Lucinda Curtois said.

The village of Bedar is in the Los Gallardos area of Almería, where temperatures reached 40 degrees Celsius (104F) on Thursday.

The Los Gallardos area is one of the most populous regions in southern Spain, with a mix of foreign residents and locals.

No additional information has been given about the four people who were found dead in a burnt-out car.

The rapid fire has been complex, and the majority or even all of the victims may have been foreign nationals, according to Antonio Sanz, Andalusia’s health and emergencies minister.

Conditions are due to be “rather more favourable” on Saturday, with moderate wind and cooler air, according to the Andalusian branch of national weather agency AEMET.

Key Facts

  • At least 12 people have been killed in the wildfire.
  • 23 people are still missing.
  • 4 Britons are among the dead.
  • Conditions are due to be more favourable on Saturday.