A 93-year-old British woman has become the 13th person to die in the wildfires that swept through southern Spain's Almeria province, the Andalusian government confirmed on Sunday. The woman, who suffered burns to around 20% of her body after being caught in the blaze on Friday, died in hospital — bringing the death toll of one of Spain's deadliest ever wildfires to 13, with at least five believed to be British.
The fire, which began on Thursday when a power line broke in a roadside ditch, was driven by 30mph winds that spread flames across 10 miles of dry scrubland in just two hours. It scorched 7,000 hectares along a 40km perimeter, forcing the evacuation of nearly 1,500 people from the village of Bédar and surrounding areas. About 600 were allowed to return on Sunday.
“13th victim: 93-year-old British woman dies in Spain wildfire; survivors describe lack of warnings.”
Among the dead are four people found inside a right-hand drive vehicle — believed by authorities to be British tourists who attempted to flee on foot. A British man died while on the phone with his wife, Penelope Howe of Wolverhampton told The Times. “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.”
British couple Simon and Emma Mitchell, who moved to Bédar three years ago, returned to find their home intact. “This is our house and it survived,” Emma said, but her eyes filled as she recalled driving past friends' houses that had not been so lucky. “When I look over there and I see how close we were to disaster like some of those people, that is terrifying.”
The couple said they were never given clear evacuation instructions. “Next time it would be good to get an alert on our phones,” Emma said. “We get an alert for earthquakes that are 50 miles away but we don't get an alert for a fire that is a quarter of a kilometre away.” She criticised local officials who suggested some victims had not followed instructions, saying, “These people that died, they had no instructions to follow, they did the best they could in the circumstances. Please don't try and victim-blame afterwards.”
Stanislas Verdonckt, a Belgian virologist, was among the eight victims found in a valley on the outskirts of Bédar. His son Thomas-Wolf told Reuters that his father and the others had not been warned. “They only started to run when the flames were almost upon them,” he said.
Two British hikers were found alive but badly burned on Sunday after a team of Civil Guards searched a ravine. Sergeant Pedro Barre told RTVE: “That experience we accumulate over the years is what tells you: take another look, give it one last try, check again just in case.” Rafael Zea said the couple's survival required a “Titanic effort”. They remain in hospital with 40% burns. Regional president Juanma Moreno said the fire spread at “unprecedented speed”. With at least 23 people still missing, the question remains whether better warnings could have saved lives.
