Briton Killed in Spanish Wildfire Was on Phone to Wife as Flames Engulfed Car

A British man attempting to flee the devastating wildfires that swept through Spain at the weekend died while speaking to his wife on the phone, it has emerged.

The blazes in southern Spain have claimed at least 12 lives so far and prompted the evacuation of hundreds of residents from threatened communities.

Penelope Howe, who is originally from Wolverhampton, told The Times that her friend’s husband was killed during the evacuation.

Howe, 54, who lives near Bedar, said the woman had been left profoundly traumatised. She explained that the man had been forced to stop at one stage and was able to speak to his wife by phone.

He had collected the couple’s cats but became trapped inside the car, Howe said, adding that husband and wife remained on the line together during his final moments.

Officials believe many of those killed were British and Belgian citizens. A further 23 people are still thought to be missing, raising fears that the number of dead could climb.

Spanish authorities said genetic material has been recovered from the 12 confirmed victims, but formal identification has not yet been completed because relatives are travelling to Spain to provide comparison samples.

Authorities have suggested that the fatalities occurred after victims failed to follow official instructions to remain sheltered where they were.

But the son of a Belgian man who perished in the fire disputes this, saying the emergency services gave them no guidance.

Belgian virologist ‌Thomas-Wolf Verdonckt told Reuters on Saturday that he spoke to his father, 63-year-old businessman Stanislas Verdonckt, by phone just before 9pm local time on Thursday evening as the fire advanced on the mountain village of Bedar in Spain’s southeastern Almeria province. 

Stanislas Verdonckt was among eight victims of the wind-whipped wildfire found dead in a valley below the Paraje el ​Curato area where he lived on the outskirts of Bedar, according to his 33-year-old son. Verdonckt, who lives in Belgium, travelled to Spain ​after the fire and spoke with surviving neighbours.

No officials told the group that the fire was heading their way ⁠or that it would be safer for them to stay at home than flee, Verdonckt said.

‘The people who died did not fail to follow any ​orders because no orders were given. No information was provided,’ he said.

‘They only started to run when the flames were almost upon them. That was their ​absolute last resort.’

Authorities have said local officials and police went door-to-door or telephoned residents with instructions on how to evacuate safely or to shelter in place, depending on how the fast-moving fire was advancing in their area.

Bedar mayor Angel Collado said he urged the group including Stanislas Verdonckt to shelter in place.

The Andalusian regional government, which oversees emergency services ​and local administration, and the Spanish Civil Guard police, which was involved in rescue efforts, did not immediately respond to requests for comment on Verdonckt’s ​account.

The head of the regional government of Andalusia, Juan Manuel Moreno, today said that the wildfire has now stabilised. 

‘Good news. After several very difficult days,’ firefighters have declared the blaze in the municipality of Los Gallardos stabilised, he wrote on X, adding the roughly 1,000 remaining evacuees would be allowed to return home. 

The burned area remained at about 6,600 hectares (16,300 acres) after the fire made no further advances on Saturday.  

Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez is scheduled to visit the devastated area on Monday.

Burned-out vehicles still line some roads where people were trapped as the fast-moving fire swept through the area at speeds of up to 100 metres (330 feet) per minute.

Authorities have kept the death toll at 12 and cautioned that the number of missing people remains uncertain until autopsies and the identification of recovered bodies are completed.

Officials have said many of the victims could be foreign nationals.

The identification process has been slowed because collecting DNA samples from relatives has proved difficult, with family members traveling from other countries.

Despite the improving conditions, the Civil Guard police planned another search of the affected area Sunday to ensure no victims remain unaccounted for.

‘The Civil Guard has entered more than 250 homes to verify that no one was inside, and it will now carry out one final sweep of the area to make a complete check that no one else remains,’ Virginia Barcones, secretary-general for Civil Protection, told Spain’s public broadcaster Sunday.