Spanish firefighters launched an offensive on Saturday to try to control the raging forest fire that is devastating the province of Almería in southeastern Spain. Fueled by strong winds, the fire has already claimed at least 12 lives and injured eight people, while several villages were evacuated as a precaution overnight.
The fire spread rapidly on Friday in the mountains near Bédar, north of Los Gallardos, trapping several people who tried to flee the flames. Authorities also reported seven people officially missing, as search operations continued in an area still considered dangerous.
Antonio Sanz, head of emergency operations in Andalusia, indicated that rescue teams had so far been forced to conduct defensive operations to prevent the blaze from spreading. He explained, however, that conditions now allowed them to move to a phase of direct attack against the fire. Firefighters notably succeeded in preventing the flames from crossing a highway towards the more densely populated coastal towns.
The twelve bodies found near the wooded area where the fire started have undergone autopsies. Samples have been sent to Madrid for identification, with authorities stating that it is still impossible to confirm the victims' identities, ages, or genders. Initial reports indicate that most were British and Belgian nationals, along with one Spanish citizen.
Eight people were also injured, four of them seriously, and remain hospitalized in Seville. As rescue workers continue their efforts to extinguish the blaze, which is still being described as "complex," authorities fear a higher death toll if the missing are not found quickly.
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