A British man who tried to escape the deadly wildfires tearing through southern Spain died while on the phone with his wife. Penelope Howe, from Wolverhampton, told The Times that her friend’s husband is among the 12 killed so far by the blaze. ‘She’s in deep shock. At one point, he needed to stop and she spoke to him on the phone,’ Howe said. ‘He had got the cats and was trapped in the car. They were speaking together for the last few minutes. That was how it ended.’
Victims and Missing Persons
Nearly all of the confirmed victims so far were from Belgium. Four victims, found inside a right-hand drive vehicle, are believed to be British. At least 23 people are missing, making it likely the death toll will increase. None of the victims has been identified yet. Officials say that some of those who died had not followed orders to leave or shelter in place.
Disputed Evacuation Orders
The son of one of the dead, Belgian virologist Thomas-Wolf Verdonckt, disputed claims that victims ignored evacuation orders. He told Reuters that he phoned his father, Stanislas Verdonckt, just before 9pm on Thursday as the fire ate into the mountain village of Bedar. Stanislas was one of the eight victims found in a valley on the outskirts of Bedar. The authorities, however, did not tell the businessman the flames were on their way or advise them to seek shelter. Verdonckt said: ‘They only started to run when the flames were almost upon them. That was their absolute last resort.’
Rescue of British Couple
A British couple who were out hiking near Bedar when the fire hit were rescued on Friday. They were discovered by members of the Civil Guard, Spain’s national police force, who heard distant cries for help. Sgt Pedro Barre told Spain’s TVE state broadcaster: ‘As you gain more experience, something inside you tells you, “Look again, try one more time”.’ The couple’s cries were heard ‘very far away’, he added, with the rescue crew nearly mistaking them for an echo. The man and woman were found in critical condition, with burns covering 40% of their bodies. They remain in hospital. Another rescuer, Manuel Moyanao, added: ‘It was unbelievable that there could be any life left there, that there could be any people still alive.’
Origin and Spread of the Wildfire
The wildfire ripping through Los Gallardos, a rugged region popular with tourists in Almería, is one of the deadliest on record in Spain. The blaze began on Thursday when a power line broke in a roadside ditch and sparked a small fire. Yet 30mph winds drove the flames up a hillside and spread them across 10 miles of dry scrubland in just two hours. Thousands of people were evacuated as the fire spread at an ‘unprecedented speed’, regional president Juanma Moreno said today. The flames singed 7,000 hectares across a 40km perimeter, even as military reinforcements came to aid firefighters.
Official Statements
Moreno said: ‘Geographical and meteorological circumstances have combined to create one of the fastest-spreading fires in the history of Andalusia, and possibly in Spain. A speed never before seen.’ Locals described watching their homes be ‘devoured’ by flames. While the wildfire has since been ‘stabilised’ as of 11am, the risk of more forest fires remains high, forest officials said on X. ‘There’s one truth that remains intact: zero risk does not exist,’ the agency said.
