Prestigious British school under threat from deadly fires near Spain’s Madrid that have already claimed one life

FIREFIGHTERS have brought under control a wildfire in the Tres Cantos area of Madrid which killed one person and led to 180 people being evacuated.

Flames reached the campus of the renowned British school, King’s College, in Soto de Viñuelas at around 8pm on Monday after the blaze was first reported in scrubland some 15 minutes earlier.

There was some partial damage but the boarding school was empty for the summer holiday.

A WhatsApp group with 30 former students was busy with conversations overnight but the overriding issue was that everyone was safe.

‘Thank goodness it’s August’, was a frequently used phrase with no students on campus or horses in the stables.

Favourable overnight conditions allowed for the Tres Cantos fire to be contained, according to the Community of Madrid in a statement.

A man who had been taken by helicopter to the La Paz hospital after suffering burns on 98% of his body, later died.

Prime Minister, Pedro Sanchez, passed on his condolences to the victim’s family.

“All my love for the family of the man who died in Tres Cantos because of the fire,” he posted on social media platform X.

The fire affected more than 1,000 hectares.

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