Two die in Spain mudslide as Belgium battles largest-ever wildfire

Two women, aged 60 and 80, have been killed after torrential rain triggered a landslide in northwest Spain.

It happened late on Saturday in the village of Manzanedo de Valdueza, near Ponferrada, with pictures showing streets and cars deluged by mud.

Seven regions in the north and central region are under a yellow alert for storms and heavy rain on Sunday.

It comes about seven weeks after a huge wildfire in the Avila region west of Madrid was declared a national emergency and forced tens of thousands to evacuate.

Other wildfires in Spain, Greece, Croatia, the UK and elsewhere continue to burn, with Belgium dealing with its largest on record.

Authorities said the fire had destroyed 3,000 hectares of land by Sunday morning and was very close to the German border.

The blaze is in the High Fens nature reserve, in the country's east, and has been burning since Friday when the temperature hit 37C.

It has surpassed a 2011 fire in the same area that was previously the country's biggest.

Firefighters from Germany and Luxembourg have joined the response, alongside the army and local farmers.

Tourists have been told to leave the area but so far no properties have been destroyed.

The fire was still spreading towards a municipal forest on Sunday, said Rene Dahmen, chief engineer at the Department of Nature and Forest.

"The situation is extremely difficult," Mr Dahmen said. "We need helicopter support."

The call for help has been answered - with three helicopters and two water-bombing planes being sent from Sweden, the Netherlands and the Czech Republic.

EU commissioner Hadja Lahbib said Belgium had activated the union's civil protection mechanism for outside support.

"The High Fens are burning. Belgium is not facing it alone," Ms Lahbib posted on X.

The fire is just under a mile from Germany, according to authorities in the town of Monschau.

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It's not currently expected to breach the border, but a little further inside Germany a separate fire has been burning in the Hurtgen forest.

The worst appears to be over and about 2,000 people in the village of Gey have been allowed home. The local government said there were no longer any open flames.

In Greece, two people died and others were injured on Sunday in fast-moving wildfires on the island of Salamina, a popular getaway for people from Athens.

Nearly 200 firefighters, 14 aircraft and helicopters have been deployed but authorities said strong winds were making the flames spread rapidly.

The fire department said the two who died are believed to have been a couple.

One person also died and 40 were treated in hospital when wildfires hit the Croatian coast overnight into Friday, destroying cars and homes in Omis.

More than 1,200 people were evacuated from the town, about 10 miles south of Split.

France is also dealing with a wildfire that began on Thursday and has burned 1,700 hectares in a pine forest in the southwest Landes region.

About 650 people have been forced to evacuate and around 500 firefighters are on the scene.

It's not far from the site of France's biggest fire for more than 70 years, which last month ravaged the Gironde region around Bordeaux and forced more then 220,000 to evacuate.

The blaze has now dissipated and tourists are being encouraged to return.

In the UK meanwhile, soldiers from the Gurkha regiment have been sent to help in South Wales, where 14 wildfires are burning.

(c) Sky News 2026: Two die in Spain mudslide as Belgium battles largest-ever wildfire