Panic as Spanish train passengers stop in wildfires

Passengers on the halted rail service were terrified by the approaching wildfires. Photo / Screenshot, @PacoSeoanePerez

Francisco Seoane and his fellow passengers got a fright when their train stopped in the Spanish countryside and they looked out the window: Wildfires were encroaching on them from both sides of the track.

"It was really scary to see how quickly the fire spread. Just in the blink of an eye, a new bush began burning. It was a matter of seconds," the Spaniard told The Associated Press on Monday.

"It suddenly became night," he added. "And we could even smell the smoke" inside the railcar.

Images of the moment were captured by Francisco Seoane Pérez, shared to the twitter account @PacoSeoanePerez.

Video of the unscheduled — and unnerving — stop shows about a dozen passengers in Seoane's railcar becoming alarmed as they look out of the windows.

"Moments of panic on the Madrid-Ferrol train at Zamora-Sanabria, 9:30 a.m. The train continued the journey after a few minutes stopped," he wrote.

Flames licked at the vegetation, and smoke darkened the blue skies as the train drew to a halt on Monday morning in the province of Zamora, where blazes have charred large areas of woodland in recent days. That province has recorded two deaths from wildfires in the past two days: a 69-year-old shepherd and a 62-year-old firefighter trapped in the flames.

With no passenger announcements coming over the train's public address system, Seoane said passengers became agitated and began to stand up in the aisle.

Rail operators Renfe later supended services through the area, replacing trains with road transport services between Zamora and Sanabria.

"At all times, the actions undertaken by Renfe have been aimed at maintaining the security of the service and guaranteeing the integrity of passengers," said a statement.

"The rest of the services between Galicia and Madrid are suspended until rail traffic can be restored."

An Adif spokeswoman told The AP that passengers were never in danger.

More than 30 forest fires around Spain have forced the evacuation of thousands of people and blackened some 22,000 hectares over the past week.

- Associated Press with additional reporting