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At least 11 people have died as a wildfire ripped through southern Spain’s Almería province amid a stifling heatwave that has gripped the country.
Authorities raised an earlier death toll of six to 12 “after the confirmation of six more deaths in the area of the fire,” the regional government of Andalusia said in a statement. A few hours later, Spains emergency services corrected the number down to 11.
Some of the dead in Bedar in Almería were found in vehicles, the regional government said in a statement.
Around 150 firefighters backed by five fire trucks battled the blaze which broke out as temperatures neared 40C.
Roads were closed and residents evacuated as the inferno spread, with about 50 people housed in a cultural centre.
The fire injured at least six people, including a woman who suffered burns and another person with smoke inhalation who were taken to hospital.
Witnesses told authorities the blaze may have started after a power line fell, igniting dry vegetation before spreading rapidly through surrounding woodland, but authorities have not confirmed the fire’s cause.
Regional emergency chief Antonio Sanz called the deaths “an unprecedented tragedy”, adding in the statement that “the pain is immense”.
Spain has experienced increasingly frequent and prolonged heatwaves in recent years, with temperatures often exceeding 40C, creating conditions for major wildfires.
Additional sources • AFP
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