At least 13 people have died in a fierce forest fire near Los Gallardos, in southern Spain, Spanish authorities say. Several people are injured, some are in a serious condition. According to the Belgian foreign ministry, there may be as many as three Belgian dead. In the course of Monday the Spanish authorities announced that one of the bodies had been identified as that of a Belgian national.
Belgians feared dead as 13 die in Spanish forest fires and 23 are missing
Colin Clapson
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Updated:
How many Belgian victims are there?
Unfortunately, not everyone was able to evacuate in time. The evacuation proved difficult because one of the main access roads had been cut off by fire.
It is possible that drivers trying to leave the village got stuck and were trapped by the fire. The provisional toll stands at 13 dead, 7 injured and 23 missing.
According to the Spanish public broadcaster RTVE, four of the fatalities were found in their burnt-out cars. The other seven managed to leave their vehicles but died elsewhere in the inferno.
The victims are believed to be foreign nationals. “Most – or even all – of the dead may be foreign nationals,” Antonio Sanz, Andalusia’s acting Minister of Health and Emergency Situations said, earlier last week.
There are also Belgians amongst the missing. “As there has been no contact with the missing Belgians this weekend, there is reason to believe that there are three Belgian victims,” a spokesperson for Belgian foreign minister, Maxime Prévot, said.
In the course of Monday the Spanish authorities announced that one of the bodies had been identified as that of a Belgian national.
It is understood that official confirmation of all the identities from the Spanish authorities could take a few more days. “The examinations that need to be carried out on the bodies to reach a definitive confirmation may take a few more days.”
The children of missing Belgians – a couple and a single man – are in Spain to provide DNA samples, says VRT News reporter Stijn Vercruysse. “That DNA will be compared with the 12 bodies that have not yet been identified.”
The analysis is being carried out in a laboratory in Madrid but is taking longer than anticipated. “It appears to be a particularly complex process. So, we are still waiting for the results.”
Four of the fatalities are also believed to be British nationals, and one French woman is missing.