At least 12 people have died in a forest fire in Los Gallardos, in the southeastern province of Almería, according to the Andalusian Government, while six have been injured.

Some of the victims were found inside vehicles that had been engulfed by flames. Witnesses say the fire was caused by a downed power line and that the fire quickly spread to a nearby wooded area. Authorities have not confirmed the cause of the fire.

A sustained heatwave with temperatures around 40°C (104°F) has sparked wildfires across southern Europe.

Hundreds of firefighters are battling major incidents in France, Portugal and Spain, and thousands are forced to leave their homes.

“The number of people killed in the Los Gallardos fire has increased to 12 after six more deaths were confirmed,” the Andalusian Government reported in a statement.

The president of the regional government, Juanma Moreno, described the deaths as “a tragedy.” Writing in X after the initial six death toll was announced, he said: “Our hearts are heavy and we are devastated by grief.”

About 150 firefighters were working to put out the fire in a village called Bedar. Among the injured is one person who was taken to the hospital for smoke inhalation and another who suffered burns. Four people were treated at the scene for minor burns and breathing problems caused by the heavy smoke.

The fire also caused road closures and 1,000 residents were evacuated, according to emergency services.

Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez said in May that Spain would deploy the largest response to summer forest fires in its history this year, local media and AFP reported.

Spain’s Military Emergency Unit (UME), deployed in serious emergencies, said it would join firefighting efforts in Los Gallardos.

In June, Spain reached its highest daily average since 1950, and had days in which it recorded the highest temperatures in its history for that month. Temperatures as high as 42 °C (107.6 °F) were forecast in some parts of the country.

Last year, a record 393,000 hectares (971,000 acres) burned in Spain, according to the European Forest Fire Information System (EFFIS), more than six times the Spanish average between 2006 and 2024.

Climate change is raising temperatures around the world, and Europe is the fastest warming continent: warming twice as fast as the global average, according to the Copernicus climate service.

This is leading to an increase in summer heatwaves, greater pressure on Europe’s water supply and more intense wildfires.

Last year was the worst wildfire season in the European Union since records began in 2006, with more than one million hectares (equivalent to about half the land area of ​​Wales) burning across the EU.

The worsening fire season in the Mediterranean has been directly linked to climate change in a separate study by the World Weather Attribution group at Imperial College London.

Experts warn that more frequent and severe fires are likely to continue across Europe in the future.