Get you up to speed: British man killed in Spain wildfire ‘was on phone to wife in his final moments’ | News World
A British man died while trying to escape wildfires in Los Gallardos, Spain, speaking with his wife in his final moments. The fires have resulted in at least 12 fatalities, with 23 others reported missing as officials continue to manage the crisis.
As of 11am, the wildfire in Los Gallardos has been stabilised, though forest officials warn that the risk of further fires remains high. Approximately 540 personnel, including members of the Civil Guard and the Military Emergency Unit (UME), are actively involved in the firefighting response.
Regional president Juanma Moreno described the incident as one of the deadliest wildfires in Spain’s history, emphasising that “geographical and meteorological circumstances have combined to create one of the fastest-spreading fires.” While the wildfire has been stabilised, officials warned that the risk of additional forest fires remains high, stating, “zero risk does not exist.”
What remains unclear — The identities of the 12 confirmed victims have not yet been released.
British man killed in Spain wildfire was on phone with wife during escape
A British man who tried to escape the deadly wildfires tearing through southern Spain died while on the phone with his wife.
Penelope Howe, from Wolverhampton, told The Times that her friend’s husband is among the 12 killed so far by the blaze.
‘She’s in deep shock. At one point, he needed to stop and she spoke to him on the phone,’ Howe said.
‘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.’
Nearly all of the confirmed victims so far were from Belgium. Four victims, found inside a right-hand drive vehicle, are believed to be British.
At least 23 people are missing, making it likely the death toll will increase.
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Thousands of people in the Almeria province had to be evacuated (Picture: Reuters)
At least 12 people have died (Picture: Francis Gonzalez/SOPA Images/Shutterstock)
The mountain ranges of Bedar have been especially burnt by the fire (Picture: Reuters)
None of the victims has been identified yet. Officials say that some of those who died had not followed orders to leave or shelter in place.
Yet the son of one of the dead, Belgian virologist Thomas-Wolf Verdonckt, disputed this.
He told Reuters that he phoned his father, Stanislas Verdonckt, just before 9pm on Thursday as the fire ate into the mountain village of Bedar.
Stanislas, his son said, was one of the eight victims of the wildfire found in a valley on the outskirts of Bedar.
The authorities, however, did not tell the businessman the flames were on their way or advise them to seek shelter.
Verdonckt said: ‘They only started to run when the flames were almost upon them. That was their absolute last resort.’
Thomas-Wolf Verdonckt, whose father was killed in the wildfires, and his partner (Picture: Reuters)
A British couple who were out hiking near Bedar when the fire hit were rescued on Friday.
They were discovered by members of the Civil Guard, Spain’s national police force, who heard distant cries for help.
Sgt Pedro Barre told Spain’s TVE state broadcaster: ‘”As you gain more experience, something inside you tells you, ‘Look again, try one more time”.’
The couple’s cries were heard ‘very far away’, he added, with the rescue crew nearly mistaking them for an echo.
The man and woman were found in critical condition, with burns covering 40% of their bodies. They remain in hospital.
Another rescuer, Manuel Moyanao, added: ‘It was unbelievable that there could be any life left there, that there could be any people still alive.’
When did the wildfire start?
The fire has since been ‘sustained’ (Picture: Francis Gonzalez/SOPA Images/Shutterstock)
The wildfire ripping through Los Gallardos, a rugged region popular with tourists in Almería, is one of the deadliest on record in Spain.
The blaze began on Thursday when a power line broke in a roadside ditch and sparked a small fire.
Yet 30mph winds drove the flames up a hillside and spread them across 10 miles of dry scrubland in just two hours.
Thousands of people were evacuated as the fire spread at an ‘unprecedented speed’, regional president Juanma Moreno said today.
The flames singed 7,000 hectares across a 40km perimeter, even as military reinforcements came to aid firefighters.
Moreno said: ‘Geographical and meteorological circumstances have combined to create one of the fastest-spreading fires in the history of Andalusia, and possibly in Spain. A speed never before seen.’
Locals described watching their homes be ‘devoured’ by flames.
🗣️”Es un infierno, se veían las llamas que devoraban casi hasta la autovía”
🔥Víctor Fernández, párroco de Bedar y Los Gallardos, ha relatado la angustia que viven desde hace ya muchas horas los vecinos de la zona en @HerreraenCOPE pic.twitter.com/NgIb53bi7X
— Ecclesia COPE (@ecclesiacope) July 10, 2026
While the wildfire has since been ‘stabilised’ as of 11am, the risk of more forest fires remains high, forest officials said on X.
‘There’s one truth that remains intact: zero risk does not exist,’ the agency said.
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