Three people were killed and 24 others injured as wildfires raged out of control in north-eastern Spain.
One man died of a heart attack while dousing flames around his home, while a father and his teenage daughter fell to their deaths when they jumped into the sea after being surrounded by flames as they drove along a road. Eight of the injured were believed to be in a serious condition.
The fires, fanned by strong winds, also caused transport chaos as they swept through parts of Catalonia, forcing the suspension of train services in Alto Ampurdan and the closure of several cross-border roads linking Barcelona with France.
Two other victims were a 60-year-old man and his 15-year-old daughter, who had been travelling on a road near Portbou. The girl is believed to have drowned and her father died from injuries sustained in the fall.
Some 15 other people, including an eight year-old girl, were taken to hospital after they also jumped off the cliff to avoid being burned to death.
More than 140,000 people in the region have been ordered to remain in their homes and 80 fire crews have been deployed to fight the fires, which appear to have started close to the border with France.
'The situation on the roads of the area is very complicated,' the fire service said in a statement, which added that the main highway linking Spain with France through La Jonquera had been closed.
State broadcaster TVE said efforts were being made to reach the occupants of cars forced to stop on the highway to avoid driving into sections swept by flames.
The fire service said the flames had spread through about 32,000 acres.
Santiago Villa, mayor of Figueres, which houses the famous Salvador Dali museum, said he had ordered the city's 44,000 residents to stay indoors until further notice.
A flock of 500 sheep were burned during one of the wildfires which took hold in Ller near La Junquera close to the Spanish-French border
The Spanish Interior Ministry said it had sent three specially equipped aircraft and an emergency unit from Zaragoza to aid Catalan firefighters.
But the aircraft were being hampered by the high winds.
Spain's rail company Renfe confirmed that the fires had forced the cancellation of international high-speed train services linking Catalonia with France using the Portbou and Pertus tunnels through the Pyrenees mountains.
A north wind called the Tramontana is commonly seen in mountainous northeastern Spain and its strong gusts, which can often exceed 100 mph, can spread fires rapidly across the heavily forested area.
More than 80 crews have been dispatched to assist in extinquishing the fire.
