Hundreds of firefighters in Spain battle deadly wildfires that killed at least 12
The fire has scorched some 25 square miles of forest and farmland, about the size of Manhattan.
At least 12 people are dead as hundreds of firefighters backed by helicopters and fixed-wing aircraft struggled Saturday to contain one of Spain's deadliest wildfires .
Sanz said fire crews carried out controlled burns overnight around the perimeter of the fire, which broke out late Thursday in a semi-arid area near the Sierra de Los Filabres mountains in Almeria province, just as Spain was sizzling under a high temperature warning.
Most of the victims, who are believed to be foreign nationals, died after ignoring shelter-in-place instructions, authorities said. Seven people died while on foot after abandoning their cars.
Four of the dead were believed to be British because the steering wheel of their burned-out car was on the right side, as with British vehicles, regional authorities said.
Authorities had completed autopsies and DNA samples were collected to identify them, Sanz said Saturday. Authorities proactively evacuated 1,448 people from some 11 areas.