Commuters were struck with terror as apocalyptic flames surrounded their train while travelling through wildfires in Spain.
Political communications expert Francisco Seoane Pérez was among the passengers onboard the 9.30am train to Ferrol in Galicia when the blaze appeared just a few feet away through their carriage windows on Monday morning.
The train was careening through the town of Senabria - which lies in the path of the Zamora wildfire - when the infernal flames ripped through the dry grass on either side of the track.
As Mr Pérez recorded the stunning footage on his phone, distressed riders can be heard questioning why the driver decided to stop in such a dangerous spot.
Passengers were "very afraid" when the driver brought the train to a halt, Mr Pérez told El Diario, but added they only stopped for a few moments before continuing their journey.
He said: "When you stopped looking out one window to look out the other, the fire had already moved."
It comes as Britain is set to record its highest temperatures and firefighters battle blazes across southern Europe as a heatwave sent people hunting for shade and compounded fears about climate change.
In Spain, a wildfire raced across a field and engulfed a digger near the northern town of Tabara, forcing the driver to run for his life as flames burned the clothes off his back.
Across that country and some other parts of southern Europe there were some signs conditions were starting to ease after days of blistering highs that have caused hundreds of deaths and left countryside dangerously dry, authorities said.
But the heatwave was moving north. Temperatures nudged 38C (100 Fahrenheit) in southern England on Monday and were forecast to hit a record-breaking 40C (104 F) on Tuesday, according to Britain's Meteorological Office.
Train companies cancelled services and some schools closed while ministers urged the public to stay home and the government triggered a "national emergency" alert.
Flights were suspended at Luton airport after staff spotted a "runway defect". The hot weather had melted the runway at the Royal Air Force's Brize Norton air base, Sky News reported.
Wildfires raged across Portugal, Spain and France and authorities warned there were a risk of more as tinder-dry conditions persisted.
Spain was facing the last day of a more than week-long heatwave, which had caused more than 510 heat-related deaths, according to estimates from the Carlos III Health Institute.
In Tabara, locals said the digger driver - who they named as Angel Martin Arjona - had been trying to dig a trench between the fire and buildings.
But orange flames surrounded the vehicle. TV footage showed him emerging from the blaze, tripping, then scrambling to his feet as people shouted out to him and a firefighter ran up to help.
The driver was airlifted to hospital with burns, witnesses said, though there were no detailed reports on his condition.
With fires burning thousands of hectares in Galicia, Castille and Leon, Catalonia, Extremadura and Andalusia, Spain mourned the death of one firefighter in the northwestern province of Zamora on Sunday evening.
In El Pont de Vilomara in Catalonia, evacuees gathered outside a civic centre, among them retiree Onofre Munoz, 69, who said that his home and van had been completely destroyed.
"We bought the van when I retired and now it's totally scorched. We have nothing," he said.
"Our house had quite a few windows, they exploded, and a powerful blaze came in."
In Portugal, temperatures dropped over the weekend, but the risk of wildfires remained very high, the Portuguese Institute of Meteorology said.
Around 1,000 firefighters, backed by 284 vehicles and 18 aircraft, were battling 10 wildfires, mainly in northern regions, authorities said.
Two people died trying to flee the flames in a car in the northern Murca area, media said.
Belgium and Germany were among the countries expecting the heatwave to hit them in coming days.
The EU said it was monitoring wildfires raging in southern member states on Monday, sending a firefighting plane to Slovenia over the weekend adding to recent deployments to France and Portugal.
"We continue of course to monitor the situation during this unprecedented heatwave and will continue to mobilise support as needed," spokesperson Balazs Ujvari told a briefing.
In the Gironde region in southwestern France, the fires had destroyed 14,800 hectares (37,000 acres), local authorities said on Monday.
More than 14,000 people have been evacuated from the area. France has issued red alerts, the highest possible, for several regions, with residents urged "to be extremely vigilant".
In Italy, where smaller fires have blazed, forecasters expect temperatures above 40C in several regions in coming days.
Switzerland also suffered the effects of the heatwave. Axpo, the operator of the Beznau nuclear plant, said it on Monday it was forced to reduce output so that it does not overheat the Aare river from which it draws its cooling water.
