Twelve of the 13 people killed when a fierce wildfire tore through Andalusia in southern Spain were foreign nationals, authorities confirmed after completing post-mortem examinations.
Officials said seven of the victims were from the UK, three were Belgian, and one each came from France and the United States. The remaining victim was a Spanish citizen.
“The 13 people who died were eight women and five men, all of them adults,” the public body responsible for identifying the victims said.
The blaze erupted last Thursday in Almeria, a picturesque southeastern province on the Mediterranean coast that is home to a large community of foreign residents.
Workers survey a scorched landscape in the aftermath of the deadly Los Gallardos wildfire
Ranked among Spain’s deadliest wildfires in recent years, the fire burned through roughly 7,000 hectares after an electrical cable fell onto a road.
Firefighters have since brought the blaze under control, allowing displaced residents to begin returning to their homes on Sunday.
Spain has endured longer and more frequent heatwaves in recent years, with temperatures climbing above 40C and leaving landscapes dangerously vulnerable to wildfire.
More than 393,000 hectares burned across the country in 2025, according to the European Forest Fire Information System — the highest total in Spain’s recent history.
