A man has died from burns and thousands of people have been forced to flee as wildfires sweep through parts of Spain, fuelled by strong winds during a searing heatwave across Europe.
The victim suffered serious burns as winds of up to 70 kilometres per hour (43 miles per hour) whipped the flames through Tres Cantos, a wealthy suburb north of the capital, Madrid, officials The man later died in hospital, becoming the first death from dozens of wildfires to hit the country since the heatwave began last week.
The head of the regional government of Madrid, Isabel Diaz Ayuso, said in a message on X that she “deeply regretted” the man’s death.
Hundreds of Tres Cantos residents were evacuated from their homes.
“In barely 40 minutes, the fire advanced 6km [3.7 miles],” Carlos Novillo, Madrid’s regional environment chief, told reporters.
By Tuesday morning, regional officials said the blaze had been contained.
Elsewhere, about 2,000 people were evacuated from hotels and homes near the popular beaches of Tarifa in the southern region of Andalusia.
The wildfire there broke out near where a similar blaze forced evacuations earlier this month. Credit: aljazeera.com
