A British couple with severe burns was found down a ravine during deadly wildfires in Spain's Almeria province. This was reported by Qazaqyia.kz citing BBC News.
According to local media, the couple were hiking when they were caught in the blaze, which spread rapidly through the province on Thursday. They were evacuated and taken to hospital, where they are in intensive care. Hundreds of firefighters have been battling the fires, which have claimed 12 lives, including 4 Britons, and burned through 6,600 hectares (16,300 acres). The identities of the deceased have not been officially confirmed.
The couple were discovered by Civil Guard officers searching for survivors near the worst-hit village of Bedar in the early hours of Friday morning. One rescuer, Sergeant Pedro Barre, said they heard distant cries for help. "As you gain more experience, something inside you tells you, 'Look again, try one more time,'" he told Spain's TVE state broadcaster. The rescue team followed the sound and climbed down a hillside. They found the couple in critical condition, semi-conscious, with severe burns covering 40% of their bodies. "Being able to call out in the condition they were in was a titanic effort," said Rafael Zea, another officer involved. "We'll never forget that look of surprise and emotion on their faces," Barre added.
On Saturday, authorities said firefighters had made significant progress in getting the fires under control. Calmer winds and higher humidity were expected to help. About 600 of the nearly 1,500 evacuated from the fire zone in Almería province were told they could return, regional emergency chief Antonio Sanz said.
A sustained heatwave with temperatures around 40°C has caused wildfires across Southern Europe this summer, especially in France, Portugal, and Spain. On Friday, Los Gallardos mayor Francisco Miguel Reyes told Spanish radio station Cadena SER that "it feels like a bomb has fallen" on the area. "This is the first time we've faced a fire as devastating as this."
Hundreds of firefighters, military and law enforcement personnel, and 30 aircraft continue responding to the blaze. Forensic scientists in Madrid are using samples from victims' bodies and DNA from families of the missing to identify the dead. The identification process has been slowed because collecting DNA samples from relatives has proved difficult, with family members traveling from other countries.
With at least 12 dead, this is among the deadliest wildfires in Spanish history. In 1984, 20 people died in a fire on La Gomera, while in 1979, 21 people, including nine children, died in a forest fire near Lloret de Mar. Wildfires have also plagued France this summer. On Monday, over 10,000 people were evacuated from homes in the foothills of the French Pyrenees. French authorities said on Saturday 32 people had been arrested on suspicion of starting fires. Climate change is driving up temperatures worldwide, and Europe is the fastest warming continent, heating up twice as fast as the global average, according to the Copernicus climate service.