British Couple Rescued from Ravine After Spain Wildfire Devastates Almer\u00eda Province

A British couple have been found down a ravine, badly burned and semi-conscious, after being caught up in the deadly wildfires that tore through Spain's Almer\u00eda province, according to local media.

The pair were hiking when a sudden blaze swept the area. They were rescued by Civil Guard officers who located them early Friday morning, plunging into a steep slope to pull them from the ravine.

Sergeant Pedro Barre recounted the frantic call for help: “As you gain more experience, something inside you tells you, ‘Look again, try one more time.’” The rescuers followed distant cries, climbed down the hillside, and found the couple with severe burns covering roughly 40% of their bodies, barely conscious.

The firefighters now are moving the survivors into intensive care; the pair remain in critical condition.

The Almer\u00eda blaze has claimed 12 lives—including 4 Britons—and scorched 6,600 hectares (16,300 acres). The victims’ identities are not yet confirmed as authorities sift through DNA samples and forensic evidence to identify the deceased.

A sustained heatwave, with temperatures around 40 °C (104 °F), has sparked similar dense fires across southern Europe this summer. 30 aircraft, hundreds of firefighters, military personnel, and law enforcement units are fighting the blaze.

On Saturday, regional emergency chief Antonio Sanz reported that wind conditions had calmed and humidity had risen, helping slow the fire’s spread. Some 600 evacuees were allowed to return to their homes as the situation stabilized.

Spain’s heatwave continues to test firefighting capacity. In France, 10,000 people were evacuated from the Pyrenees overnight, and 32 suspects are arrested for allegedly igniting fires. Climate change is seen as the underlying driver of these excessive temperatures and devastating wildfires across the continent.

Interactive Map: View detailed fire hotspots in Almer\u00eda.

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