British man died on phone with wife as he tried to rescue pets in Spain wildfires, friend says

A British man died in the Spanish wildfires while on the phone to his wife, after returning home to rescue their cats, a friend has said. Penelope Howe, 54, originally from Wolverhampton but now living near the village of Bedar in Almeria province, said her friend’s husband was trapped in his car as flames engulfed it. “They were speaking together for the last few minutes. That was how it ended,” Howe said. “She’s in deep shock. At one point he needed to stop and she spoke to him on the phone. He had got the cats and was trapped in the car.” The tragedy is part of a wider disaster that has killed at least 12 people and left 23 missing after wildfires swept through south-east Spain last week. Officials are still working to confirm the identities of the dead; DNA samples have been flown by police helicopter to Madrid for analysis, and it is believed that the victims may be British or Belgian nationals. At least four other Britons are thought to have died, their bodies found in the burnt-out shell of a right-hand-drive Honda Accord. The car was among a convoy of six vehicles and a motorbike abandoned on a dirt track near Bedar. Emergency services have been searching the mountainous landscape for days. The Spanish Civil Guard rescued a British couple from a ravine in Almeria. Sergeant Pedro Barre told Spanish broadcaster TVE that the two were thought to have been hiking when the blazes spread. They were found in critical condition with burns on 40% of their bodies and are now in intensive care. Officer Rafael Zea added: “Being able to call out in the condition they were in was a titanic effort. We’ll never forget that look of surprise and emotion on their faces.” More than 150 firefighters and 220 soldiers fought the blaze, which forced the evacuation of over 1,400 people. Police have blocked access to mountain villages. One Briton who asked not to be named said: “We were very lucky to get out. I’ve heard they may be bringing bodies down.” Post-mortems on the burned bodies have failed to determine even their gender, and officials have declined to comment on reports that three minors are among the dead. The question of how many more victims lie undiscovered in the charred hills remains unanswered.