Number of British people killed in Spain wildfires rises to seven

Seven victims of one of Spain’s deadliest wildfires on record were British, officials have confirmed.

The update comes two days after forensics experts began the grim task of identifying the 13 people killed in Almeria late last week.

The wildfires, which have also ravaged France, broke out last Thursday as parts of Western Europe baked under their third heatwave in six weeks.

Bodies were found near the village of Bedar. They were thought to have attempted to escape on foot after apparently abandoning their vehicles and trying to flee through rugged terrain.

A British pensioner who fears his wife, friends and neighbours were killed in the Spanish wildfires described yesterday how he survived by sheltering in an abandoned car with his cat.

Malcolm Timbrell, 70, became separated from his wife Annette Kilgore, 69, and the rest of the group as flames surged through Bedar on Thursday.

Mr Timbrell and Ms Kilgore moved there after being shown the property when they appeared on the Channel 4 programme A Place in the Sun.

The couple had decided to flee by car but Mr Timbrell went back to get their two cats and when he tried to catch up with the rest of the group, saw they had left their cars and were trying to flee the flames on foot.

He told the BBC: ‘My wife and our other seven friends and neighbours – against me screaming at them not to – decided the only safe way was to walk out in front of the firewall.

‘I’ve subsequently heard that that firewall was moving at 20 kilometres per hour, plus. They had no chance.’

A 93-year-old British woman has been confirmed among the victims.

The Andalusian government said she was taken to hospital on Friday after suffering burns to about 20% of her body and her death was confirmed on Sunday afternoon.

On Sunday it was reported that two British hikers had been found alive but badly burned.

The man and woman are thought to have suffered 40% burns, according to Spanish national broadcaster, RTVE.

The pair were discovered by a team of Civil Guards, who said they had already checked the area, but had a feeling that they should go back.

In an interview with RTVE, the Civil Guard officers said they found the two British people alive just as night was falling.

Sergeant Pedro Barre told the broadcaster: ‘That experience we accumulate over the years is what tells you: take another look, give it one last try, check again just in case.’

The pair are now said to be in a serious condition in hospital, although their lives are not believed to be in danger.

In a statement confirming the nationalities of those who died, Andalucia’s High Court of Justice said late yesterday: ‘This afternoon, the identification of all the victims of the Los Gallardos fire was completed.

‘In total, the identified victims of the fire include one Spaniard and twelve foreign nationals.

‘Of the thirteen identified deceased, one of whom died in the hospital, seven were from the United Kingdom, three from Belgium, one from France, one from the United States, and one was a Spanish citizen. The thirteen deceased comprise eight women and five men, all of them adults.

‘The identification process for the final three bodies was completed thanks to the arrival of biological samples from relatives of the deceased.’

Authorities proactively evacuated 1,448 people from some 11 areas.

The justice minister attributed the ferocity of the Almeira wildfire to a ‘climate emergency’.

At its most intense, flames advanced as fast as 100 meters per minute.

Spain has suffered frequent and severe heatwaves in recent years, with temperatures often exceeding 40C.

In June, Spain experienced several days of record-setting heat, with more than 1,000 excess deaths attributed to heat.

The country’s deadliest wildfire was in 1979, when 21 people perished in Lloret de Mar, a coastal town about an hour north of Barcelona.

Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk.

For more stories like this, check our news page.