Two dead in Spain fire as heatwave scorches Europe

MADRID

In this photo released by Agents Rurals de Catalunya, uncontrolled fire rages across the grasslands in the Segarra region, in the rural province of Lleida, Spain, Tuesday, July 1, 2025. (AP Photo/ Agents Rurals de Catalunya, HO)

Firefighters in Spain have said they found two bodies after a blaze in the northeast of the country, which is in the midst of a brutal heatwave.

The heatwave across Europe this week broke high temperature records, caused the closure of schools and increased the risk of fire.

Authorities in Spain's Catalonia region on July 1 confined about 14,000 people to their homes due to two wildfires that broke out almost simultaneously in the province of Lerida.

In one of the blazes, near the city of Cosco, "two people were found lifeless by firefighters," the fire and emergency service said in a statement.

The exact cause of the fire was unclear, but the service said the recent heat, dry conditions and strong winds caused by storms had increased the intensity of the flames.

Catalonia regional president Salvador Illa said he was "dismayed after learning of the death of two people as a result of the fire," in a post on X.

Hours earlier, police in the region had reported the death of a 2-year-old boy after he was left in a parked car in the sun for several hours.

Spain is in the midst of an intense heatwave, with temperatures exceeding 40 degrees Celsius in many places and several heat records set for the month of June.

One person died in the southern city of Cordoba and another in Barcelona, both while doing road work on June 29 and likely victims of heatstroke.

According to scientists, extreme weather events, such as heatwaves and storms, are becoming more intense due to man-made climate change.