Juanma Moreno, leader of the Andalusia region, has issued a further statement.

He said: "Please, one request: let's all follow the recommendations of the authorities or emergency teams when there is a forest fire. It's vital.

"Staying home or evacuating a building following official instructions saves lives. And in a tragedy like the one we are experiencing in Almería, everyone's life is at stake.

"The fire in Los Gallardos has claimed 12 lives so far. A major tragedy. In addition, 23 people are still missing. Let us always, always exercise extreme caution. A long summer lies ahead and we all need to stay vigilant."

(Image: Anadolu via Getty Images)

British tourists evacuated from a campsite threatened by the wildfire said they were given just 10 minutes to flee as flames closed in.

According to Spanish newspaper El País, Patricia Garlic, 78, spotted a huge plume of smoke while returning from Garrucha beach before watching the fire head towards the Los Gallardos campsite, where she has stayed for the past 20 years.

"We were scared because we didn't know what was going to happen," she said.

(Image: AP Photo/Gregorio Marrero)

• Spanish newspaper El Mundo reports that a total of approximately 3,150 hectares have already been burned.
• The Emergency Department reports that there are 464 personnel and 124 vehicles deployed.
• Resources from Infoca, the regional forest fire and emergency management agency for Andalusia, have also been sent to help.
• There are also 64 military personnel from the Unidad Militar de Emergencias (UME), the emergency military unit of the Spanish army.
• There are also 12 fire engines and two firefighting planes working to douse the flames.
• In total, 600 people have been evacuated and of those 193 have been housed in temporary shelters while the rest are with friends and loved ones.

Video clips show firefighting planes filling up on water at Vera beach beach located in Almería, Spain as stunned bathers look on.

The post said: “The two seaplanes collecting water on Vera beach to be able to extinguish the Los Gallardos fire.

“They don't stop circling every 5 minutes.”

Spain’s Ministry of Defence shared a video of Air Force planes working as part of the firefighting efforts for the alongside the rest of the mobilized resources.

Regional leader Juanma Moreno said earlier that there were more than 30 aircraft and hundreds of personnel engaged in fighting the fire.

A minute’s silence was held at midday today in the Brit-popular resort of Benidorm.

A Benidorm Town Hall spokesman said: “Benidorm Town Hall observed a minute of silence at midday today as a sign of support and respect for the victims of the fire declared in the Almería municipality of Los Gallardos, which has already claimed the lives of 11 people, while another 19 remain missing and several others have been injured.

“The silent gathering took place outside the town hall HQ and was led by the First Deputy Mayor, Ana Pellicer, who was joined by several members of the local council.

“The initiative came from the Spanish Federation of Municipalities and Provinces (FEMP), which Benidorm backed in light of the magnitude of the tragedy that occurred early this morning.”

(Image: undefined via Getty Images)

Three children are among the 12 people confirmed dead so far following the Almeria wildfire, according to some Spanish media reports.

Garrucha’s mayor Alvaro Ramos, a forest ranger by profession, said this afternoon around 70 people were initially catered for at the council-run sports centre but that number was now down to around 50.

He said: “The majority of them are British people who lived in bungalows at the Los Gallardos camp site which was evacuated by police." Speaking of the wildfire area, which he knows well because of his forest ranger work, he said: “I've been to a great many wildfires.

“In two of them, the entire Sierra Cabrera in Turre and Mojacar burned, and what I saw yesterday is something I've never seen in my life. It was hell itself.

"There was a fire front at least 25 kilometres long. That was impossible to put out, even with aircraft, and during the night it spread a great deal. You know what the terrain is like. You know where it passes through. You know which people live in those houses, and it hurts.

"There are many scattered settlements, many isolated houses, small hamlets accessed through riverbeds, dry stream channels, difficult-to-travel roads, ravines that become death traps.”

A Military Emergency Unit vehicle operates as a wildfire rages(Image: AP Photo/Gregorio Marrero)

A town-hall source in Bedar, the municipality where all those known to have lost their lives so far died, said this afternoon: “Around 70 per cent of the inhabitants are British.

“We’re talking about people who, generally speaking, are elderly and have retired here.

“The rest of the population consists of Belgian nationals and some French. The Spanish people living in the area are definitely a minority.”

Many of the British people who have survived the blaze but have been unable to return to their homes or find alternative private accommodation are being put up in municipal centres in neighbouring municipalities.

Some were initially taken to a council-run centre in Los Gallardos before being moved on to municipal sports centres in areas like Garrucha and Vera where many are expected to stay for the time being.

A man watches flames near Bedar, in Los Gallardos(Image: AFP via Getty Images)

A court in the town of Vera in the province of Almeria has been placed in charge of the ongoing judicial probe into the wildfire. The High Court of Andalucia said today: “The Almeria Institute of Legal Medicine has now received the bodies of six of those who died in the Los Gallardos fire. Of these, forensic doctors carried out four autopsies during the course of this morning.

“The forensic doctors continue working, together with the Civil Guard, on the recovery of the other six bodies, a demanding task due to the inaccessibility of the terrain. The remaining six bodies are expected to arrive at the Institute of Legal Medicine facilities later this afternoon.

“No one has yet been identified. Once the autopsy has been completed, the Genetics Department of the Civil Guard's Criminalistics Service will analyze all the collected samples at its headquarters in Madrid in order to identify the bodies. All the samples collected today will be transported to Madrid by helicopter later tonight.

“The forensic doctors in Almería plan to carry out two more autopsies this afternoon on the bodies already at the Institute of Legal Medicine and to continue working as more bodies arrive, although they have not ruled out requesting additional support to speed up the work, which is highly complex due to the condition of the bodies.

“Regarding missing persons’ reports, two have been officially filed during the course of the morning. All of this information has been compiled by the Integrated Data Center (CID), established to respond to this emergency.”

The fire rages in Alfajir(Image: AP Photo/Gregorio Marrero)

Remains of the 12 people confirmed as dead in the Almeria wildfire will begin to be flown to Madrid on a police helicopter tonight so the formal identification process can begin.

Officials have said they suspect many of those killed were British, including four people trapped in a car gutted by flames which was right-hand drive.

However it is expected to be several days before authorities can say for sure if UK nationals lost their lives. Post-mortems on six of the victims had yet to take place at 2pm local time today because recovery of all of the bodies is proving “difficult.”

A source close to the ongoing investigation said: “Some of the bodies had been so badly burnt it’s impossible at this stage to say whether they were men or women.

“Normally fingerprints would be used to help with the identification process but here it’s not going to be possible in most cases because of the state the victims’ bodies were in.”

A video shared on social media by the Forest Fire Extinction Service of Andalusia earlier shows the intensity of the blaze. Hundreds of firefighters and 30 aircraft have been mobilised to try and bring the fire under control.

Evacuees from the village of Bedar near the site of the fire have been taken to the sports hall of Garrucha, near Los Gallardos, in Almeria Province.

Twelve people have been killed so far and 23 are missing after a wildfire tore through the Spanish village.

Evacuees from Bedar(Image: AFP via Getty Images)

Villagers have been taken to Garrucha(Image: AFP via Getty Images)

The fire tore through the village of Bedar(Image: AFP via Getty Images)

The death toll from the Andalusia wildfire has officially been raised to 12, Juanma Moreno, leader of the Andalusia region, has just confirmed.

Earlier it was reported that 11 people had been killed with a twelfth fatality awaiting confirmation.

Downing Street said the Government was seeking more information following the “concerning” reports of British nationals killed in the fires.

A No 10 spokeswoman said: “I’m aware of those reports and the Foreign Office are in touch with the relevant authorities in Spain.”

Regional Minister Antonio Sanz said in a press conference this morning that the situation can only be described as a "tragedy," adding that there are at least 11 confirmed deaths and one more fatality pending confirmation.

One of the fire victims was a Spanish national, and the rest were foreign tourists residing in the area, he said. Sanz indicated that the deaths occurred in two separate incidents after the victims attempted to flee via an evacuation route other than the one designated by the authorities, El Pais reports.

One group of four deceased individuals "appear to be British" based on the position of the vehicle's steering wheel.

The other seven were part of a group of nine, two of whom survived. "Seven people died; of these, it appears one was a Spanish national, and the rest may also be foreigners," the regional minister stated, suggesting they could be Belgian or British.

Pictures show clouds of smoke blocking out the sun in the skies over Almeria, Andalusia, amid ongoing efforts to bring the fire under control.

Los Gallardos Spain wildfire(Image: x)

Spanish newspaper El Pais is reporting the of the 11 confirmed deaths in the Los Gallardos fire, 10 are Belgian or British nationals and one is a Spanish national, according to information confirmed by the authorities.

The Foreign Office is in contact with the authorities in Spain following reports that four Britons may have been killed in the wildfire.

Four bodies were found in a burnt-out car which had its steering wheel on the right.

Antonio Sanz, Andalusia’s health and emergencies minister, said the people inside were believed to be “of British origin”.

The Almeria wildfire is now the third deadliest in Spanish history, local news outlet SUR reports.

At least 11 people have been killed - with a 12th waiting to be confirmed - which makes it the third deadliest on record in the country.

The same number of people were killed in a blaze in Riba de Saelices in 2005. Eleven firefighters lost their lives in that terrible fire after they were surrounded by flames in the Alto Tajo Nature Reserve near Madrid.

Spain’s second-deadliest fire, on LA Gomera in the Canary Islands, claimed the lives of 20 people in 1984. In 1979 a forest fire in Lloret de Mar on the Costa Brava killed 21 people.

A private power line is believed to have caused the wildfire in Los Gallardos.

The electricity company Endesa, the main supplier in the area, and Red Eléctrica have said the power line does not belong to them.

It appears that the fire originated in a private power line that once served a now-abandoned house and restaurant.

Flames from wildfire burn through vegetation near Estepona(Image: JUAN CARLOS DOMINGUEZ/EPA/Shutterstock)

There are 220 soldiers who have joined the operation to fight the wildfire in Almeria.

A statement from the Spanish military reads: "220 soldiers and 70 vehicles from the Second Response Batallion #BIEM2 are intervening in #IFLosGallardos, in #Almería.

"Tackling the flames which continue advancing."

Footage on social media shows the terrifying spread of the wildfire in Almeria which has left at least 11 people dead and more than 20 missing.

Minister of the Presidency, Health, and Emergencies Antonio Sanz has urged people to follow the evacuation advice.

He said: "I want to make an appeal to everyone to be responsible. In an emergency, the authorities' instructions are not recommendations: they are designed to protect lives.

"If evacuation or confinement is ordered, do so immediately and following the established routes."

Firefighters battling the blaze in Los Gallardos(Image: UME/AFP via Getty Images)

Francisco Miguel Reyes, mayor of Los Gallardos, says it is like the area has been hit by a "bomb".

He said “It feels like a bomb has fallen. The fire is out of control, and the wind isn't helping. We hope it can be brought under control sometime today.

"There's a lot of property damage, but that can be repaired; lives, however, cannot.”

There is a large campsite with 400 people in the area as well as three small villages where people have been evacuated.

The wildfire close to the road in Los Gallardos(Image: INFOCA/AFP via Getty Images)

Minister of the Presidency, Health, and Emergencies Antonio Sanz, says that seven people have died after trying to escape the wildfire on foot and two others have been taken to hospital.

"There were nine people that left on foot, two have survived and seven others died. One of those is Spanish, and the others could be Belgians or British as well," said Sanz.

Four people from the UK are also feared to have died after being found in a car with a steering wheel on the right-hand side.

Map showing where the wildfires are taking place

Currently 11 people have been confirmed dead and with another death feared as well as many more missing, today's wildfire tragedy in Los Gallardos could become the worst of its kind in Spain's history.

The worst death toll up until now happened due to wildfire in Lloret de Mar, on the Costa Brava, on August 7, 1979, which claimed the lives of 21 people.

A plane dowsing flames over Los Gallardos(Image: AFP via Getty Images)

Bedar Mayor Angel Francisco Collado Fernandez told how seven people died in his region after not evacuating their home.

He said that emergency services were "knocking doors telling people to leave".

He added: "One of those who didn't want to leave is alive and she said that she told nine others to stay in her home but they didn't do that - seven of those have died and the other two are being taken to the Virgen de Rocio Hospital in Seville."

The fire remains out of control(Image: UME/AFP via Getty Images)

The President of the Regional Government, Juan Manuel Moreno, says that the death toll could be as high as 12 pending confirmation of the discovery of another body.

The local government reported that 23 people are still missing.

Firefighters tackling the wildfire(Image: INFOCA via AP)