At least 12 people died attempting to flee a wildfire in southern Spain and 23 were missing, officials said on Friday, as firefighters battled to bring one of the country's deadliest blazes on record under control, APA reports citing Reuters.
One Spaniard was among the victims and the rest appeared to be foreign nationals who ignored instructions to shelter in place, said Antonio Sanz, head of emergencies in the Andalusia region.
The victims tried fleeing by car but were engulfed by flames that spread rapidly, fanned by wind, through a wooded area around the town of Los Gallardos in Almeria province, he said.
Four people, who appeared to be British because the steering wheel of their car was on the right-hand side, died in one vehicle, he said. Eight others were found dead after apparently abandoning their cars and attempting to escape on foot along a route that was not part of the evacuation plan. Many of the charred corpses still had to be identified through DNA testing, he said.
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