Spain wildfire horror in heartbreaking pictures as inferno leaves 12 lifeless and 23 lacking

Horror in southern Spain has left families shattered after the Los Gallardos wildfire ripped through the Almería province of Andalusia, killing at least 12 people and leaving 23 others missing. The heartbreaking pictures from the scene show scorched homes, blackened hillsides and desperate residents fleeing as flames swallowed everything in their path.

The blaze broke out on Thursday afternoon (July 9), during a brutal European heatwave with temperatures hitting around 40C. Fire crews say it spread with terrifying speed, at its worst surging by roughly 100 metres per minute – giving some people little to no chance to escape.

Most of the confirmed dead are believed to be foreign nationals and expats who owned holiday homes in the region. Authorities say many victims were caught while trying to flee after they ignored, or did not receive, instructions to shelter in place as the firestorm closed in.

Among the most devastating discoveries, four victims were found incinerated inside a single right-hand-drive car, while another seven people reportedly died on foot after abandoning their vehicles when roads were cut off by walls of flame. At least eight people remain in hospital with severe injuries.

More than 1,400 residents have been evacuated across 11 municipal zones, with the destruction centred around the hamlet of Bédar, just outside Los Gallardos near the Sierra de Los Filabres mountains. Around 6,600 hectares – about 25 square miles – of land has been scorched, including scrubland and farmland.

Scroll through the gallery below to see the devastating scenes and the aftermath as firefighters battle to stop the flames from claiming more lives.