Two more Britons are feared to have died as one of Spain’s worst ever wildfires tears through the south of the country.

Emergency services in south-eastern Spain are continuing to battle pockets of the blaze after it ravaged the region, killing at least 12 people.

Hundreds of firefighters and other specialists have been deployed around the village of Bedar, where Spanish authorities say four Britons are among the dead. 

Another 23 people remain missing, including at least six Brits.

Local officials in the Los Gallardos area of Almería have warned the death toll could rise amid fears more Britons are among the victims.

Lucinda Curtois, who arrived in Spain with her partner Riyaz Cheytan and their teenage children for a holiday on Thursday, described how her family escaped the flames in Bedar.

‘It was almost like there was a mushroom cloud of smoke. It was like a bomb had gone off,’ she told the BBC.

Curtois said she feared at least two more Britons had been killed. 

 ‘They left their home on foot, I don’t know why,’ she said. ‘I can only presume it was probably because their road was cut off because they live out in the countryside.’

Flames smoke rise from the forest fire while evacuation and firefighting efforts continue in the Los Gallardos district of Almeria, Spain on July 10

An exhausted firefighter rests near an INFOCA emergency vehicle while a colleague holds a bottle of water during a massive wildfire while evacuation and firefighting efforts continue in the Los Gallardos district of Almeria, Spain on July 10

A firefighting helicopter drops water onto a thick column of smoke to combat a massive wildfire while evacuation and firefighting efforts continue in the Los Gallardos

The wildfire tore through the remote expat community overnight, with many victims killed as they tried to flee the flames in cars and on foot.

Eight people were injured and 23 remain missing, Andalusia’s regional leader Juan Manuel Moreno said.

The blaze, one of Spain’s deadliest wildfires, broke out late on Thursday in a semi-arid area near the Sierra de Los Filabres mountains in Almería province as the country endured soaring temperatures.

Most of the victims died after ignoring shelter-in-place instructions, said Antonio Sanz, head of Andalusia’s emergency services. 

‘Some tried to escape via a dry riverbed that ‘turned into a death trap,’ he said.

Four victims were believed to be British nationals because the steering wheel of their burned-out car was on the right side, as with British vehicles, regional authorities said. 

Other unspecified nationals also were believed to be among the dead, and the death toll was expected to rise, authorities said.

Seven people died while on foot after abandoning their cars, Sanz said, adding that most of the deceased were believed to be foreign nationals.

Dean Taylor, a resident who divides his time between Spain and the U.K., said he managed to just barely escape the neighborhood by using back roads to get out.

‘It was quite terrifying,’ Taylor said in an interview with The Associated Press. ‘It’s a very sad day, isn’t it? It’s devastating, really.’

Smoke and flames rise during a wildfire in Los Gallardos, Spain, July 9, 2026

Firefighters of the Infoca (Andalusia Wildfire Service) monitor a fire in the area of a wildfire that killed 12 near Beda

The fire was still burning as of Friday afternoon. Some 150 firefighters and 220 soldiers from Spain’s military emergency unit were battling the blaze, which had consumed more than 3,200 hectares (7,900 acres) of forest and farmland.

Moreno, the Andalusian regional leader, said containing the fire was difficult because of the steep, dry terrain.

‘It consists mainly of scrubland and esparto grass,’ Moreno said. ‘Everything is extremely dry due to the heat waves, making it the perfect fuel; combined with the wind, it’s a ticking time bomb.’

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez expressed his condolences. ‘Immense sadness and desolation in the face of the terrible consequences of the fire affecting the province of Almeria,’ he wrote on X.

It comes after British families took to social media and local forums to plead for help in finding their loved ones who have gone missing.

Danielle Gillam-Kirton, from Sheffield, posted a photo of her parents on Facebook with the caption: ‘My parents, Pete and Fran Gillam, live in Bedar and we are trying to get in touch with them to make sure they are OK.’

She said her mother’s final text message arrived at 6.53pm on Thursday, saying they were evacuating because of the wildfire.

‘None of our messages or calls since have been successful,’ she added.

Patricia McGough posted that her daughter Caitie disappeared after evacuating the wildfire area.

‘My daughter is missing,’ she wrote on Facebook, alongside a photo of her daughter and dog, adding: ‘She was driving a red Ford Fiesta and had her dog with her. Has anyone seen her?’

Meanwhile, a post in the Mojacar Playa Community Facebook group asks people to look out for a couple named Simon and Lisa who were cut off by the wildfire and have not been heard from since. Simon reportedly uses crutches.

The wildfire comes as Spain swelters in a heatwave, with scorching temperatures triggering orange weather warnings

Residents talk as they get ready to leave their homes while smoke and flames rise during a wildfire

And the Mojacar Area Cancer Support charity has circulated a photo of Annette Kilgour, whose family say they have also been unable to contact her.

Others around the world are also desperately searching, with Sophie Vanderbroek, a woman living in Boston, posting a message to the local emergency services saying her brother

had been among a group of ten people who tried to escape through a valley next to a stream.

Spain has battled frequent and severe heat waves in recent years, with temperatures often exceeding 40 C (104 F). Wind, high temperatures and little rainfall help small wildfires grow into unchecked blazes.

In June, Spain experienced several days of record-setting heat, with over 1,000 excess deaths attributed to heat.

Europe is the world’s fastest-warming continent, with temperatures increasing twice as fast as the global average since the 1980s, according to the European Union’s Copernicus Climate Change Service. 

Parts of Western Europe are facing their third heat wave in six weeks. Globally, 2025 was the third-hottest year on record, bringing several intense heat waves across Europe.

France is experiencing the peak of its third heat wave of the summer, with temperatures reaching 40 C (104 F) across western and central areas and around 37 C (98 F) in Paris.

French authorities have also warned of a very high wildfire risk, as large fires in the south have already scorched thousands of hectares this week, disrupting the Tour de France cycling race and stretching firefighting resources.

The largest wildfire, in the eastern Pyrenees near the Spanish border, had decreased in intensity by Friday, authorities said. But it has burned about 5,000 hectares (12,000 acres) and forced the temporary evacuation of more than 10,000 people from nearby villages.

Last month was France’s hottest June on record, with deaths surging by nearly a third during the hottest week.

Scientists warn that climate change caused in part by the burning of fuels like gasoline, oil and coal is exacerbating the frequency and intensity of heat and dryness, making certain regions more vulnerable to wildfires.

Spain is no stranger to wildfires, with last year’s fire season burning more than 393,000 hectares (almost 1,520 square miles), according to the European Forest Fire Information System, an area twice as large as London. Four people died.

Spain’s deadliest wildfire was in 1979 when 21 people perished in Lloret de Mar, a coastal town about an hour north of Barcelona.

In 2017, a wildfire in neighboring Portugal left 66 people dead in Pedrogao Grande, located 200 kilometers (120 miles) northeast of Lisbon. In that blaze, 47 people died on one road while similarly attempting to flee in their cars.