MADRID, Sept. 22 (Xinhua) -- Spanish Civil Guards on Friday discovered what is thought to be the body of a Swedish woman who lived 600 meters away as they searched through the devastation caused by a wildfire on the island of Gran Canaria over the past three days.
The fire started on Wednesday afternoon and continued burning through Thursday, with some points still active on Friday, destroying over 2,700 hectares of land and causing over 800 people to be evacuated from the nearby towns of San Mateo, La Lechuilla and Lomo de los Ingleses.
The "completely charred" body was discovered at around 11:45 a.m. local time close to San Mateo and is thought to belong to a 60-year-old Swedish woman, who had been reported as missing earlier in the day, although it has been taken to the city of Las Palmas for formal identification.
It is thought the woman remained behind when the area was evacuated in order to ensure the safety of her animals, which were also found to have been killed by the flames.
The fire has now been stabilized by emergency services and those who were evacuated for the safety have been allowed to return to their homes.
