Spain battles to contain one of its deadliest wildfires as at least 12 killed

Spain battles to contain one of its deadliest wildfires as at least 12 killedImage source, ReutersImage caption, A helicopter works to extinguish flames amid deadly wildfires affecting Almeria province in SpainByNick Beake, Europe correspondent in Andalusia and Chris GrahamPublished38 minutes agoEmergency services in south-eastern Spain are working to contain pockets of fire after one of the country's worst ever wildfires. Hundreds of firefighters and other specialists have been deployed around the village of Bedar where 12 people have been killed - among them four Britons, according to Spanish authorities. Another 23 people are still missing. Local officials in the Los Gallardos area of Almería have warned the number of dead could rise, with fears that more Britons are among those killed.A sustained heatwave with temperatures of around 40C (104F) has caused wildfires across Southern Europe this summer, particularly in France, Portugal and Spain. To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser.This video can not be playedFigure caption, Firefighters battle flames as deadly wildfire rages in southern SpainSoaring temperatures, incredibly dry ground and powerful winds led to the Los Gallardos fire spreading quickly on Thursday afternoon. The cause of the fire has been put down to a fallen power line, but local electricity companies have denied this was the cause.No additional information has been given about the four people who were found dead in a burnt-out car. Antonio Sanz, Andalusia's health and emergencies minister, said earlier they were believed to be "of British origin" and that the car had a steering wheel on the right.Lucinda Curtois, who arrived in Spain with her partner Riyaz Cheytan and their teenage children for a holiday on Thursday, described their escape from Bedar. "It was almost like there was a mushroom cloud of smoke, it was like a bomb had gone off," she said.Curtois told the BBC she feared at least...