European leaders have begun to send their messages of condolence this Friday to the families and victims of the fire that broke out on Thursday afternoon in Los Gallardos (Almería), a disaster that has so far caused 12 deaths and leaves another 23 people unaccounted for.
Along with the heads of the European Union institutions, the Prime Minister of Italy, Giorgia Meloni, has made public her "deep sorrow" for what happened. "Our closeness goes out to the families of the missing people and to all those who have been involved in this dramatic emergency," she stated before emphasizing that "Italy stands by Spain and the Andalusian people in this moment of great pain."
The head of the Portuguese Government, Luís Montenegro, has indicated that he also "received the news of the fire in the province of Almería with great sadness," recalling that his country has been fighting numerous fires for weeks. In this context, he remarked that fires constitute "a common challenge for Portugal and Spain, which so often lend each other mutual aid."
"On behalf of Portugal, I also want to convey words of comfort to all Spaniards. We will always be together," he stated on his social media profiles.
As a notable gesture, the Belgian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Maxime Prévot, has conveyed his country's absolute support to Spain through a message of condolences sent a few hours before the quarter-final match between the national teams of both countries in the World Cup being held in North America.
"Tonight, Belgium and Spain face each other on the field. But our thoughts are with Andalusia, devastated by fires of terrible violence," the minister wrote, alluding to the situation in southern Spain, "a second home for many Belgians."
"To the victims of these fires and their loved ones, I express my sincerest condolences. All our solidarity goes out to Spain, its inhabitants, and its firefighters, who are fighting tirelessly against the flames," he concluded.