Wildfire in Spain rages out of control, four dead

Hundreds of firefighters backed by water-bombing planes are battling wind-fuelled wildfire in northeast Spain that killed four people including a teenage girl on Monday, Spanish news media report. 

Another 23 people were injured, including eight who remained in hospital.

About 1,300 people - including 500 Spanish and 450 French firefighters plus military personnel, police and volunteers, backed by 33 planes and helicopters - have been battling the blaze the Catalonia region interior minister Felip Puig said.

Puig said that the fire remained out of control, but "the outlook is encouraging" because the wind had dropped and the temperature in the area was expected to do the same.

"At this stage we cannot say when it will be possible to control the fire," he said.

"The conditions are right for the firefighters to attack it overnight," he added, when the aircraft will not be able to operate.

Puig said the fire had likely been caused by a cigarette butt or small explosive device that caught fire due to "recklessness or negligence."

Among the victims, were a Frenchman and his 15-year-old daughter who died Sunday after abandoning their car and throwing themselves off a cliff into the sea to escape the approaching flames near the town of Portbou.

"From where they jumped you would have to project yourself about one metre (three feet) to reach the sea. They probably did not jump far enough and they hit the rocks below," said Portbou mayor Jose Luis Salas-Mallol.