The train was travelling in the Valencia region on Tuesday night when the driver decided to reverse course because of a wildfire advancing from around the town of Bejis, further east.

Some passengers got off the train when it stopped in the countryside, including ones who broke windows to escape, officials said. Ten people were injured, Spanish state news agency Efe reported.

The government of Castellon province on Wednesday tweeted a video of firefighters running for their lives as towering flames from the Bejis fire roared behind them.

The wildfire is one of two still raging out of control in eastern Spain.

South of Valencia city, a fire around the Val d'Ebo area has burnt 11,500 hectares and forced more than 1,500 people to evacuate towns and villages since the weekend.

The region's emergency services tweeted Wednesday afternoon that nearly 10,000 hectares have been burned in the Bejis fire and 1,500 people moved from their homes.

The European Forest Fire Information System says 275,000 hectares have burned in wildfires so far this year in Spain. That's more than four times the country's annual average of 67,000 hectares since 2006, when records began.

In neighbouring Portugal, authorities said they hoped to bring under control a wildfire that has burned for 12 days and burnt large swaths of pine forest in the Serra da Estrela Natural Park.

However, officials warned a new heat wave forecast for the area could complicate the task.

Australian Associated Press