Twelve people have been killed in a wildfire near Almería in southern Spain, according to the Emergency Agency of Andalucía, which reported the toll early on Friday. Antonio Sanz, the regional minister for the presidency, health and emergencies, described the blaze as "the most devastating fire to date in our region" and called it an "unprecedented tragedy". The deaths mark a sharp escalation from earlier reports of six fatalities, underlining the severity of a fire season that is straining emergency services across western Europe.

Around 150 firefighters were working to bring the blaze under control, which struck the municipality of Los Gallardos in the Almería province. Juanma Moreno, leader of the Andalusia region, offered condolences to the bereaved families and affected municipalities in a post on X. The fire follows a separate blaze in southern France earlier in the week that forced more than 10,000 people to evacuate two dozen towns and villages near the Spanish border. Early summer heatwaves across western Europe in May and June left large areas parched and vulnerable, and the World Meteorological Organization has noted that Europe is warming at more than twice the global average, making prolonged heat episodes increasingly likely.