Juanma Moreno is facing a backlash from British residents after suggesting several of those killed in the Almeria wildfire may have died because they failed to follow official evacuation advice.

Moreno said on Friday that many of the victims appear to have ignored instructions from emergency services.

It came after regional emergency chief Antonio Sanz said some people abandoned the designated evacuation route and instead drove into a dry riverbed that became a deadly trap as the flames rapidly spread.

Authorities have also confirmed that no mass mobile phone alert was sent because different areas were given different instructions depending on the fire’s movement, with mayors and police instead going door-to-door or making phone calls.

However, at least one British resident claimed no one came knocking on her door, telling The Guardian that she was only alerted thanks to a wildfire alert app on her phone.

Moreno’s comments have sparked a furious backlash from readers of The Spanish Eye, with many accusing the regional government of blaming the victims before the full facts are known.

One reader wrote: ‘Surely they would have received an alert on their mobiles with an evacuation route? We got this last year in the floods here in Galicia.

‘To blame them for their own deaths if no such alerts were sent is reprehensible.’

Another commented: ‘This infuriates me. Don’t blame these poor people. They made the best decisions they could at the time. No one had to make that decision.’

Several people claiming to have local knowledge disputed the official narrative.

One resident wrote: ‘A lot of people who were caught up in this are saying they never got any evacuation orders and were left to find their own way out.’

Another added: ‘People were told to leave Lubrin but no instructions as to a route. Moreno’s blaming the poor people though is a horrible stance.’

A resident identifying himself as ‘Spanish Stu’, who says he remains in the evacuated area, claimed: ‘There was no evacuation instruction at all.

‘By the time I was made aware of the evacuation on social media I was committed to staying put.’

Others offered a more nuanced view, noting that multiple accounts have emerged from the disaster.

One commenter wrote: ‘I also know people personally who were instructed to evacuate, so who is right?’

Officials maintain that the advice varied depending on exactly where residents were located, with some communities ordered to shelter in place because escape routes had already become too dangerous, while others were directed to evacuate along specific roads.

Reuters reported that local mayors and police went door-to-door giving different instructions based on the fast-changing conditions.

The wildfire has claimed at least 12 lives, with dozens more still unaccounted for, making it one of the deadliest wildfires in modern Spanish history.

Authorities say investigations into exactly how the victims died, and whether communication failures played any role, are continuing.