A British couple were found in a ravine, badly burned, and semi-conscious, after being caught in the raging wildfires in Spain’s Almería province.
The pair had been hiking when the fire tore through the region, and firefighters discovered them in the early hours of Friday morning. They were evacuated to a hospital where they remain in intensive care.
The blaze, which rapidly spread across Almería, has left 12 people dead, including four Britons, and scorched 6,600 hectares (16,300 acres). The identities of the victims are still being verified by forensic teams.
Civil Guard officers searched for survivors near Bedar and followed distant cries, engaging in a tense climb that led them to the couple. Sergeant Pedro Barre stated, “As you gain more experience, something inside you tells you, ‘Look again, try one more time.’”
The rescuers “were able to call out in the condition they were in, a titanic effort,” noted officer Rafael Zea. Barre added, “We’ll never forget the look of surprise and emotion on their faces.”
By Saturday, firefighters had made significant progress. Calmer winds and increased humidity aided the suppression effort.
Regional emergency chief Antonio Sanz announced that about 600 of nearly 1,500 evacuees could return to their homes.
The summer’s heatwave, with temperatures around 40°C (104°F), has sparked widespread wildfires across Southern Europe, including France, Portugal and Spain. The Official Fire Service noted that a fire in Los Gallardos felt “like a bomb has fallen.”
Forensic scientists in Madrid are now working with DNA samples to identify victims, though the process is slowed by the difficulty of obtaining samples from families who travel internationally.
This series of fires is among the deadliest in Spanish history, with a combined death toll comparable to the 1979 fire near Lloret de Mar and the 1984 incident on La Gomera.
The climate change-driven heatwave is contributing to increased wildfires, double the warming rate of the global average, and has heightened Europe's water supply pressure.
