Jamie Whitehead
Live editor

Image source, Reuters

At least 12 people have been killed in one of Spain's deadliest wildfires, with 23 people still unaccounted for.

Andalusia's health and emergencies minister, Antonio Sanz, says it's the "most devastating fire" the region has ever seen, saying the majority, or even all of the victims may have been foreign nationals.

Four of those killed were trapped inside a car, Sanz said, adding that they are believed to be "of British origin" and that the car had a steering wheel on the right.

A Civil Guard investigation into whether the blaze was caused by a fallen power line remains ongoing - electricity company Endesa disputed that that had been the cause.

A sustained heatwave with temperatures of around 40C (104F) has caused wildfires across Southern Europe this summer. Firefighters have battled major incidents in France, Portugal and Spain, with thousands forced to leave their homes.

We are bringing our live coverage to a close now, but you can keep updated in our news story.

Alex Akhurst
Your Voice

Andrew, 59, moved to Los Gallardos five years ago for his semi-retirement.

"Two planes have been flying non-stop for about three hours now taking water from the sea to try and create a break a line to the west of the fire," he says. "They were making a run every seven minutes or so."

"Many people were applauding then as they flew over," he continues.

He says the situation is now feeling "a little better now, but sadly the wind is picking up again and that will hamper the operation".

"It's just an unfortunate set of circumstances really that these mountains, how incredibly covered in vegetation they are," Andrew says, saying conditions over winter led to the vegetation having "just grown and grown".

He says: "We've had five wildfires since we've been here, and previously it hasn't caused much damage other than vegetation, but watching it last night was pretty scary. I don't like this expression in the context where people have lost their lives, but it was just a 'perfect storm'."

Scorch marks from wildfire seen in satellite photopublished at 17:22 BST

17:22 BST

By Emma Pengelly and Paul Brown

The scale and spread of the Almería wildfire can be seen in a new satellite image captured today at around 12:50 local time (11:50 BST).

The photo from Planet Labs PBC shows at least 23 sq km (9 sq miles) has burned, with much of the mountainous countryside surrounding Los Gallardos and nearby villages now black from the blaze.

An area of orange in the south-west corner of the photo indicates that the location was still burning at the time of the satellite capture. However, some of the area is obscured by smoke which means we’re not seeing the full picture.

Slide between the two photos below to contrast the area before and after the fire started:

Image source, AFP via Getty Images

Having claimed the lives of 12 people, this is now among the deadliest fires in Spain's history.

In July 2005, 11 firefighters were killed tackling a blaze in La Riba de Saelices, in Guadalajara. The fire was sparked by a barbecue.

Looking further back, Spain experienced several devastating wildfires in 1994 which burned through more than 430,000 hectares in the country and killed 30 people. One particularly deadly fire that year in Valencia killed seven.

Twenty people were killed in 1984 in a wildfire fire in La Gomera, one of the Canary Islands.

And in 1979, 21 people were killed in a forest fire in north-east Spain, near Lloret de Mar.

Nick Beake
Europe correspondent, reporting from Los Gallardos

We’ve just arrived at the wildfires.

Chimneys of smoke rising from the bone-dry hillside pointed our way as we drove from the city of Alicante toward this disaster.

We're now in Los Gallardos where you can see flames leaping across the green and brown terrain.

Emergency services are blocking the way to the town of Bédar, home to many Brits, where we know people have died.

We've just seen two planes dump a large amount of water on the fires.

To the naked eye, it had an immediate impact.

But the wind is strong, it’s in the mid 30s (Celsius) and this landscape is totally parched - all of which means the flames can spread remarkably fast.

Jack Grey
Live reporter

Image source, Reuters

A wildfire in the Andalusia region of southern Spain has killed at least 12 people.

Here's what we know:

• In addition to the 12 confirmed to have died, a further 23 people are currently unaccounted for, regional leader of Andalusia Juanma Moreno said
• Hundreds of fire fighters, military and law enforcement personnel have been responding to the blaze which broke out near the town of Los Gallardos
• A Spanish regional official said four people died in a car and are believed to be "of British origin"
• Andalusia's health and emergencies minister said it was the "most devastating fire" the region has ever seen

What we still don't know:

• The final death toll, as some people are still missing and searches continue
• We have not yet had official confirmation of the nationalities of the deceased

• The cause of the fire - the regional leader of Andalusia earlier said it appeared to have been caused by a downed power line, but this has been disputed by electricity company Endesa

People from Bédar and Alfaix, areas close to the Los Gallardos area where the fire broke out, have been evacuated to a sports hall in Garrucha.

A space has also been established there to help people find those missing.

Image source, AFP via Getty Image

Image source, AFP via Getty Image

Mary Litchfield
Your Voice

Image source, Riyaz Cheytan

Riyaz Cheytan and his partner Lucinda Curtois fled Bédar last night, deciding to get out of the mountains towards the sea after hearing about an evacuation notice from neighbours.

"There is one main road that comes to the house - we turned the corner and all of a sudden the fire was there," Riyaz says.

The flames were so bad they had to turn around and find another route away, he says.

Lucinda says "it was really frightening and unbelievably quick", adding the fire "effectively leaped" in the wind.

"When driving away it was almost like there was a mushroom cloud of smoke, it was like a bomb had gone off," she says.

Like much of western Europe, Spain has been subject to repeat heatwaves in recent months - with some areas seeing record temperatures.

For this point in the year, 2026 has been the fourth worst for wildfires in Spain in the last 20 years, as calculated by hectares burned weekly, according to data from Copernicus, which tracks and logs wildfires for the EU.

The Spanish air force has been using amphibious planes to collect water and drop it from metres above the wildfire in an effort to control the flames.

See the latest images in the video below.

James Kelly
Your Voice

Image source, Shelagh Chapman

More now from Peter Chapman, who as described in our last post, can see the smoke from his holiday home in Mojacar.

He says he and his wife Shelagh went to a supermarket earlier, and describes people with a "surreal look on their faces".

"I wouldn’t say there’s panic, because people are pretty stoic, but there is a surreal atmosphere. People are concerned for those living there," he says.

"There’s a local forum in Mojácar where people post comments on Facebook. A lot of people are asking, ‘have you heard from so-and-so?’ or asking others to get in touch if they’ve seen somebody."

"It’s just terrible," he says.

James Kelly
BBC News

Image source, Shelagh Chapman

Peter Chapman and his wife Shelagh have a holiday home they've owned for 20 years in Mojacar - a short drive from Los Gallardos.

They first saw signs of the fire on Thursday evening. "I thought, ‘there’s a storm coming,’ because the sky was getting darker. Then there was that smell of smoke in the air," Peter tells BBC.

"You could see a glow in the sky in the distance. 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," he says.

The couple went to bed as normal, and say they woke this morning to ash in the sky and smoke in the air.

"We’re still able to sit outside and we’re not being affected by the smoke at the moment. We’ve seen a number of aircraft in the sky, which we think are picking up water to douse the flames."

Image source, AFP via Getty Images

The regional leader of Andalusia Juanma Moreno says there are 30 aircraft and "hundreds of personnel" fighting the fire in Los Gallardos, in a short update on social media.

"Stay strong and keep up the great effort," Moreno adds.

Image source, EPA/Shutterstock

The mayor of a town near where the wildfire is burning says the fire is "more or less" under control but warns "if the wind picks up again, things could get complicated".

Pedro Riado, the mayor of Antas, tells Spanish broadcaster RTVE there has been significant damage to land in the area but the fire has not reached any homes yet.

The mayor says that authorities will be keeping a close eye on wind and air conditions, "which is our main concern right now".

We can now bring you some more from Andalusia's regional leader Juanma Moreno, who has just given an update on the wildfire.

After confirming that 12 people have died and 23 are missing, Moreno says four people remain "seriously injured".

Moreno says that just because someone is missing "doesn't mean they're dead" and may be located in a different area, so "we must be cautious".

He calls the situation a "major tragedy" and describes the fire as "complex".

Image source, AFP via Getty Images

The victims' bodies were found in and around the small village of Bédar, just outside Los Gallardos.

The small village is "one of the places in Spain with the highest concentration of British residents", local journalist Alessio Ghirlanda tells the BBC News Channel.

According to Spain's national statistics institute, the village had a population of 1,009 people in January 2022 - the latest point its data goes up to - 447 of which were listed as British nationals.

"So there is a chance that some of the people missing may be British," Ghirlanda says.

He adds that he has "been informed that the families of two elderly couples who live in Beida are looking for them".

He says he doesn't know if they are among the 23 reported missing by authorities, but that "there is a search going on for these people".

The number of people killed in the wildfire has risen to 12, Juanma Moreno, leader of the Andalusia region, has just confirmed.

He says 23 people are still missing.

We'll bring you more of his comments shortly.

The UK Foreign Office is in contact with authorities in Spain, a No 10 spokeswoman says, after reports that four British people may have been killed in the fire.

Andalusia's health and emergencies minister Antonio Sanz said earlier that four bodies were found in a burnt-out car which had its steering wheel on the right, and that the people inside were believed to be “of British origin”.

Downing Street says the government is seeking more information following the “concerning” reports, PA news agency reports.

“I’m aware of those reports and the Foreign Office are in touch with the relevant authorities in Spain," the No 10 spokeswoman says.

Paul Kirby
Europe digital editor

Image source, Getty Images

The wildfire started in the Los Gallardos area of Almería, a few kilometres inland from the Mediterranean coast. Officials in the Andalusia region of southeastern Spain say they've never had such a devastating fire.

They've blamed the fire on an electricity pole falling in a hilly area and sparking the blaze, although that's been ruled out by the local power supplier. Whatever the cause, the fire spread rapidly as vegetation in the area was parched after weeks of high temperatures and the flames were whipped up further by strong winds.

Most of the victims we know about were trapped by the fire as they tried to escape the small village of Bédar.

At least 11 people have died and regional officials say most or even all of the victims were foreign nationals who were living in the area.

Four of the victims were in one car and officials believe they are of British origin, as their car had a steering wheel on the right-hand side. The other seven victims were part of a separate group.

Local emergencies minister Antonio Sanz says those who died had tried to leave the village via a route different from the evacuation route and had become trapped by flames.

Although 19 people have been reported missing, authorities say it is possible they have sought refuge with family or friends.

Chris Fawkes
BBC Weather presenter

Image source, Getty Images

Much of western Europe has seen repeated extreme heatwaves over recent months.

Spain has been hit hard with more than 1,000 excess deaths reported in June's heatwave alone - with some areas recording record temperatures.

Spain is no stranger to hot and dry summers; these bring conditions conducive for wildfires.

Satellite pictures seem to show a thermal heat anomaly associated with yesterday's fire around 16:40 local time (15:40 BST).

Once the fire had initiated, southeasterly winds gusting in excess of 25mph would have fanned the flames, pushing the fire rapidly up the slopes of the local hills.

Satellite imagery shows the fire rapidly becoming much larger and much more intense into the early evening.