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Marbella fires: British pensioner found dead as hundreds are evacuated
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- Spanish authorities are now understood to have brought fires under control
- British holidaymakers describe terrifying inferno as it swept towards them
- Blaze had left path of destruction as it spread towards Costa de Sol resorts
- Seventeen aircraft deployed to drop water on fire
- Public buildings turned into temporary refugee centres
- Main Costa del Sol motorway closed in several places
By Colin Fernandez, Tom Worden and Phil Vinter
PUBLISHED: 05:18 EST, 31 August 2012 | UPDATED: 09:31 EST, 1 September 2012
All British expats and holidaymakers caught up in wildfires in southern Spain have been accounted for, sources said today.
There had been unconfirmed reports that a 78-year-old Briton had been killed on the Costa Del Sol, but the Foreign Office has now said it was not aware of any British casualties.
The Spanish authorities are now understood to have brought the fires under control, though some patches of flames remain.
Thousands of people were forced to flee their homes and military personnel were drafted in to assist as planes and helicopters dumped water over the flames near the popular tourist towns of Malaga and Marbella in Andalucia.
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Flaming threat: An eerie orange glow lights up the Spanish sky as the wildfires surrounding Marbella close on the holiday homes of Britons who have been evacuated
Battle: Fireman try to control the flames in a forest fire as trees are engulfed in flames next to a road in Ojen, southern Spain
Burning bright: A view from the hospital in Marbella, where the fire continues to burn and the firemen are still working to extinguish it
Fight from the air: A light aircraft sprays an extinguishing agent over a forest fire along a motorway in Calahonda, Malaga, southern Spain
Around 300 British nationals were relocated to shelters yesterday, but none stayed overnight in the temporary accommodation.
A spokesman for the Foreign Office said: 'There are no reports that any British nationals have died.'
Two Britons were treated in hospital
yesterday for minor injuries - thought to be smoke inhalation - but they
did not stay overnight.
Expat John Taylor, who lives in Calahonda, said the windy conditions made the fire more ferocious than ones that have hit in previous years, but the authorities dealt with them very well.
He told Sky News: 'It came through
much more viciously on this occasion, and was much more frightening for
those people on the top of Calahonda in the apartment blocks up there.'
He said the emergency services needed to take a number of things into account when tackling the blaze.
'The authorities here that deal with
this type of disaster are fully au fait with the situation, and as a
resident or a holidaymaker you don't see the response that really is
happening behind the scenes,' he said.
'Massive amounts of authorities treat this every year as a potential threat and fires are quite prevalent this time of year.
'On this particular occasion the
winds did change enormously which gave the services huge amounts of
difficulty in knowing which direction to go.
'The services know what they're doing.'
Desperate: A light aircraft sprays water over the forest fire, while a helicopter, also in Calahonda, Malaga, attempts to douse the flames from above too
Evacuated: Many were forced to take rest in the local sports center after being evacuated from their homes due to the fires
Out of control: The fire near Coin is seen near houses in a forest at Barranco Blanco (White Ravine)
Danger: More than 250 firefighters on the ground, backed by eight planes and nine helicopters, battled the blaze
Destruction: A firefighter of the specialist wildfires emergency brigade stands amidst smouldering terrain in Ojen near Malaga
Travel operator Tui, which controls the First Choice and Thomson holiday companies, said none of its customers were affected.
The Foreign Office is advising people travelling to the region of the fires, but has not put any restrictions on the area.
'Fires are currently burning in the
forests around Barranco Blanco, between Mijas Costa and Coin in the
Malaga area of the Costa del Sol,' advice on the website read.
'The authorities have confirmed that all residents have been evacuated from their homes but many are now able to return.
'Fires are still burning in some areas, but the emergency services are at the scene and the fires in the main residential areas are now under control.'
The Foreign Office said the man who died was European but did not divulge his nationality.
A spokesman for the emergency services in Andalucia, where the fire is raging, said: ‘He is believed to have died when he returned to the property having previously been told to leave by the police.
‘We believe he lived there with his wife. The whereabouts of his wife are not known, but the area has been very thoroughly searched and there is no sign of her.’
Breather: Firefighter takes a moment as smoke fills the air behind him
Rescue flight: A helicopter of the Andalucian emergency plan against wildfires (INFOCA) brigade carries water to Ojen
Warning: A charred sign reading 'Risk of Fire' in the Elviria region. Another helicopter dumps its water payload on to the flames nearby
Police
and firemen ordered at least 7,000 people to evacuate their homes as
the blaze raged out of control, with many sent to municipal sports
halls.
With flames up to 100ft high advancing in fronts of over a
mile long, it was last night already the area’s worst fire in a decade.
Three hundred British tourists have fled in terror from the raging wildfire.
One Briton caught up in the evacuation, Kimberley Stone, a British woman on holiday with her family in southern Spain, has told how they were forced to flee their apartment as the inferno approached.
'As we drove down the hill we went through burning embers that were everywhere,' she said.
'Fires are not uncommon but I have never seen them on this scale before,' she told the BBC.
'The wildfire seemed to dip and then suddenly the wind picked up and we saw fire coming towards our apartment.'
Expats and holiday home owners took refuge in emergency shelters after being forced from their villas and apartments by the huge blaze - which is thought to have been started deliberately.
Two Brits were treated in hospital for smoke inhalation caused by the fire, which spread rapidly through towns on the area.
The devastating fire with flames up to 100ft high and advancing in fronts of over a mile long in places had claimed at least one life.
Wall of flame: A firefighter bravely battles to quell the inferno which as continued its journey towards the Costa del Sol. Thousands of people, including hundreds of Britons, have been evacuated because of the blaze
Inferno: Firefighters battle desperately to extinguish the flames in Ojen, near Malaga in southern Spain
Battle: A weary looking firefighter walks past a wall of fire as he and colleagues fight courageously to prevent the flames reaching populated areas
Danger: Main roads in the region were closed to traffic as the fires spread rapidly towards the coast
Heat: The sky is turned black with thick clouds of smoke as more woodland catches fire in Ojen
The Foreign Office said 'several hundred' Britons had been evacuated from the popular tourist area, including around 300 who had relocated to shelters.
Blaze region: The fire sweeping the Costa Del Sol was believed to have been deliberately started in Coin and has swept from the holiday resort of Marbella to as far as Malaga
Some 4,000 people in total have left their homes as a result of the fire, which officials said was started early yesterday in the town of Coin.
A spokesman for the British Embassy in Madrid said: 'We have deployed staff from the Malaga consulate to visit emergency centres in the region in order to provide consular assistance to British nationals who were forced to leave their homes.
'Some 300 British nationals were involved but have now left those centres either to return home or to stay with friends.
'Two Britons have been treated in hospital for smoke inhalation but are in a good condition. We have had no reports of any Britons having houses burned down.'
Another holidaymaker, who did not want to be named, said 'it was terrifying - the night sky was red with flames.
'The smoke was really heavy in the air. It made it hard to breath. I don't know how they can stop it.'
Angel Nozal, the mayor of Mijas, a town between Marbella and Malaga, told El Pais newspaper: 'The fire is horrific, with flames 10 to 15 metres high.'
Thousands of people, many of them Britons, have been evacuated as the fire rages out of control close to the popular resorts on the Costa del Sol.
The blaze, which by mid morning had destroyed some 2,500 acres, was believed to have been started deliberately.
As dawn broke the first of 17 fire-fighting aircraft - both fixed wing and helicopters - began dropping water on the blaze near Marbella and Mijas on the Costa del Sol.
Operation: An aircraft dumps gallons of water on the flames in a bid to stop them reaching nearby buildings
Vulnerable: A fire service helicopter prepares to pour water onto the approaching flames in Ojen
Aftermath: Fire crew douse the charred earth after the blaze had passed through. Smoke still drifts up from the embers
Clouds: Smoke from the fire fills the horizon, obscuring the mountains as a fireman directs his colleagues
Troops were also on their way from Seville, the capital of southern Spain, to join firemen and forestry workers battling the flames.
At least a dozen villas were destroyed and two people were seriously burned as the mammoth evacuation got underway.
Guests at several packed hotels were amongst those who fled the flames.
Scene of devastation: A man surveys ground burnt by the fire as it swept through the area
Horrifying: A house is surrounded by charred trees and smoke after being surrounded by the fire
Damage: Hundreds of acres have already been left destroyed by the blaze
Choking: Residents help douse the smoking embers of the fire as acrid smoke fills the air
Sports complexes, churches and public buildings in several resorts were turned into temporary refugee centres.
The main Costa del Sol A7 motorway was closed to traffic in several places along with other major roads.
Jose Luis Espejo, the Spanish Interior Ministry's local representative
in Malaga, said: 'The
technical experts find it strange that while the alarm was raised very
quickly, the fire spread so fast and on a front of so many kilometres in
such a short time that they greatly suspect the start and causes of the
fire could have been provoked.'
He told the radio network Cadena Ser that nothing could be ruled-out,
but added: 'The suspicions of the technical experts in these first
stages are very clear, especially taking into account that of the recent
fires which have broken out in the area the majority have been started
deliberately.'
The official added that the blaze had caused 'terrible damage to the environment' and would have serious economic affects on tourism.
Red hot: The night sky was turned red as the intense fire continued to burn
Deadly glow: The fire spread across a wide front as it made its way towards the Costa del Sol
Power: Dry trees and foliage have provided fuel for the raging blaze making it difficult to bring under control
Inferno: Members of Spain's Civil Protection Service search for people trapped as the huge fire rages in Elviria, near Malaga, southern Spain
Rescue workers look for people inside a chalet as the fire rages
Ready for action: Volunteers wait for orders to guard and clean a burnt out area after a forest fire at Barranco Blanco in Coin where officials believe the original fire started
The huge fire started early on
Thursday evening near the mountain town of Coin, a favourite with
British expats who have settled just inland from the packed southern
holiday coast.
Driven by a strong northerly wind it spread rapidly through the tinder dry forest and scrubland after one of the hottest and driest summers for decades.
By dawn some 600 people were fighting the blaze.
At least 4,100 people in the mountain town of Ojen, north of Marbella, were evacuated.
Large
numbers of properties, many of them holiday villas, were also cleared
on the edge of Marbella itself, at nearby Mijas and further inland
around Alhaurin el Grande and Coin.
Just
after 8.30am local time Javier Carnero, the local representative of the
Environment Ministry, said that a welcome wind change was helping
firefighters in their attempts to bring the huge blaze under control.
Escape: Thousands of residents and holidaymakers have been evacuated from their homes and hotels as the fire approaches
Worry: Thousands of British expats live in southern Spain, with at least 300 confirmed to have been among the evacuees
Firefighters in helicopters tried to douse the fire with water - taken from a golf course.
A team of choppers swooped down onto the course's water trap before rushing back to the fire just 500 metres away.
Remarkably, golfers on the course continued their rounds while a trio of emergency aircraft frantically tried to extinguish the flames.
The huge blaze broke out by the Alhaurin Golf Resort near Fuengirola on the Costa del Sol, Spain, on Thursday.
It raged on into the night after helicopter crews had to return to base when night fell before resuming their efforts yesterday.
Elis Hughes, 44, witnessed the scene on Thursday evening whilst holidaying with his family.
He said: 'The helicopters were consistently going backwards and forwards from the lake to the fire.
'They would hover over the lake on the golf course before lowering these buckets into the water and collecting it.
'A lot of the golfers didn't seem that fazed by it and just carried on walking around the course.
'We were getting a bit anxious that if the wind shifted the fire might head towards us.
'Just the day before, the neighbours who have lived here for years were saying how they were surprised they hadn't seen a fire this year.
'They said this one was the biggest they've ever seen.
Support: A woman who was evacuated from her home is consoled by volunteers at a municipal sports center in La Lagunas, near Malaga
Thirsty: Women give water to their dogs after they were forced to flee their homes
Help: Volunteers prepare mats for people who were evacuated from their homes
One golfer said: 'Normally you try to avoid hitting the water on a golf course but not this time.'
Dr.
Frank McGuiness, originally from Birmingham, told how he watched the
wildfire as it spread along the horizon some 12 miles from his home in
the early hours.
'Flames were leaping high into the air,' he said, 'it was raging along at a huge speed. Very spectacular and dramatic.
'Now the sky is full of smoke.
'The sun is completely blotted-out. We can’t see the sun.
'The
fire started near Coin, which is west of us. Then it went south on a
wide front down almost to the edge of Marbella. It has now reached a
spot about five kilometers - three miles - from the coast.
'It is an enormous fire.'
A British family of 12 returned from a day at the beach to find flames
virtually touching their rented holiday villa near Mijas on Thursday
evening.
The head of the family, who did not want to be named, told the local
Sur daily newspaper: 'We saw a lot of smoke and heard the police sirens.
We didn't know what to do.'
Then two of the taxis whose drivers had volunteered their services free to ferry evacuees to safety, picked them up and took them back to the beach area.
'It was quite fascinating to watch.'
Anaesthetist Elis, from Shropshire, said the family had just been settling down for the evening at his uncle's villa when they saw the blaze.
He said: 'We spotted this fire across the valley and as the evening progressed a strong northerly wind picked up and the fire seemed to hop from one area to another.
'By the end of the evening it was covering quite a large area.
VIDEO: Firefighters are now battling to ensure that embers are put out
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