A British man who died in the devastating Almeria wildfire was on the phone to his wife in his final moments after returning home to rescue the family’s cats, according to a close friend.
The man is believed to have been among those killed after flames engulfed a convoy of vehicles attempting to escape the fire near Bedar on Thursday.
Speaking to the UK media, Penelope Howe, a British resident living near Bedar, said the man’s wife remains in deep shock following the tragedy.
‘She’s in deep shock,’ Howe said.
‘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.
‘They were speaking together for the last few minutes. That was how it ended.’
The wildfire has so far claimed at least 12 lives, although the overall death toll has since risen to 13 after a 93-year-old British woman injured in the blaze later died in hospital from pre-existing medical conditions.
Several of those killed are believed to have been foreign nationals, with regional authorities indicating that most of the victims are expected to be British or Belgian.
Among the most haunting discoveries was a convoy of six cars and a motorbike found burnt out on a dirt track near Bedar.
One right-hand-drive Honda Accord contained several bodies believed to include British victims.
Images from the scene appear to show one of the vehicles turned in the opposite direction to the others, suggesting the driver may have attempted to turn back after encountering an advancing wall of flames.
Meanwhile, the Guardia Civil has confirmed the dramatic rescue of two British hikers who became trapped in a ravine as the wildfire spread.
Officers searching for survivors said they heard faint cries before locating the man and woman, both suffering burns to around 40% of their bodies.
The couple remain in intensive care after being airlifted to hospital.
The identification of those who died is continuing, with DNA samples flown by Guardia Civil helicopter to Madrid after the condition of several bodies prevented investigators from identifying them through conventional methods.
The tragedy has also fuelled growing criticism of the evacuation response.
Belgian virologist Thomas-Wolf Verdonckt, whose father Stanislas died in the wildfire, has disputed suggestions that victims ignored official advice to shelter in place.
‘The people who died did not fail to follow any orders, because no orders were given,’ he told Sky News.
‘They couldn’t get through via the main road because they were not warned in advance. Nobody told them the fire was coming from that direction, and when they tried to get out, it was too late.’
Authorities have maintained that local officials and police carried out door-to-door visits and contacted residents by telephone with evacuation and shelter instructions as the wildfire rapidly spread through the area.
