As many as 20 passengers have suffered burns, three of them seriously, after they jumped from a train when it was engulfed by a forest fire near Castellón in north-east Spain, writes The Guardian.

The train, en route from Sagunto in the eastern province of Valencia, to Zaragoza, stopped while the driver, seeing that the fire meant it was too dangerous to proceed, was preparing to reverse the train.

A number of passengers, fearing that the train would be consumed by the fire, panicked and fled after breaking windows to escape.

Two of those with the most serious burns were evacuated by helicopter while others, among them a young girl around 10 years old, were taken to nearby hospitals.