{"id":365226,"date":"2026-07-12T18:35:20","date_gmt":"2026-07-12T13:05:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ebiztoday.news\/?p=365226"},"modified":"2026-07-12T18:35:20","modified_gmt":"2026-07-12T13:05:20","slug":"british-man-killed-in-spain-wildfire-was-on-phone-to-wife-in-his-final-moments-news-world","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ebiztoday.news\/index.php\/2026\/07\/12\/british-man-killed-in-spain-wildfire-was-on-phone-to-wife-in-his-final-moments-news-world\/","title":{"rendered":"British man killed in Spain wildfire ‘was on phone to wife in his final moments’ | News World"},"content":{"rendered":"

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A British man who tried to flee the deadly wildfires tearing through southern Spain died while on the phone along with his wife.<\/p>\n

Penelope Howe, from Wolverhampton, told The Times<\/a> that her friend\u2019s husband is among the many 12 killed to date by the blaze. <\/p>\n

\u2018She\u2019s in deep shock.\u00a0At one point, he needed to stop and she or he spoke to him on the phone,\u2019 Howe said. <\/p>\n

\u2018He had got the cats and was trapped within the automobile. They were speaking together for the previous few minutes. That was the way it ended.\u2019<\/p>\n

Nearly all the confirmed victims to date were from Belgium. 4 victims, found inside a right-hand drive vehicle, are believed to be British.<\/p>\n

Not less than 23 individuals are missing, making it likely the death toll will increase.<\/p>\n

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Start your day informed with Metro’s News Updates<\/strong> newsletter or get Breaking News <\/strong>alerts the moment it happens. <\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

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Hundreds of individuals within the Almeria province needed to be evacuated (Picture: Reuters)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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\n\t\t\"Mandatory\t<\/div>
Not less than 12 people have died (Picture: Francis Gonzalez\/SOPA Images\/Shutterstock)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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\n\t\t\"Livestock\t<\/div>
The mountain ranges of Bedar have been especially burnt by the fireplace (Picture: Reuters)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Not one of the victims has been identified yet. Officials say that a few of those that died had not followed orders\u00a0to go away or shelter in place. <\/p>\n

Yet the son of one in every of the dead, Belgian virologist \u200cThomas-Wolf Verdonckt, disputed his. <\/p>\n

He told Reuters <\/a>that he phoned his father, Stanislas Verdonckt, just before 9pm on Thursday as the fireplace ate into the mountain village of Bedar.<\/p>\n

Stanislas, his son said, was one in every of the eight victims of the wildfire present in a valley\u00a0on the outskirts of Bedar.<\/p>\n

The authorities, nonetheless, didn’t tell the businessman the flames were on their way or advised them to hunt shelter. <\/p>\n

Verdonckt said: \u2018They only began to run when the flames were almost upon them. That was their \u200babsolute last resort.\u2019<\/p>\n

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Thomas-Wolf Verdonckt, whose father was killed within the wildfires, and his partner (Picture: Reuters)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

A British couple who were out mountain climbing near Bedar when the fireplace hit were rescued on Friday.<\/p>\n

They were discovered by members of the\u00a0Civil Guard, Spain\u2019s national police force, who heard distant cries for help. <\/p>\n

Sgt Pedro Barre told Spain\u2019s TVE <\/a>state broadcaster: \u2018\u201dAs you gain more experience, something inside you tells you, \u2018Look again, try yet another time\u201d.\u2019<\/p>\n

The couple\u2019s cries were heard \u2018very far-off\u2019, he added, with the rescue crew nearly mistaking them for an echo. <\/p>\n

The person and woman were present in critical condition, with burns covering 40% of their bodies. They continue to be within the hospital. <\/p>\n

One other rescuer, Manuel Moyanao, added: \u2018It was unbelievable that there might be any life left there, that there might be any people still alive.\u2019<\/p>\n

When did the wildfire start?<\/h2>\n
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\n\t\t\"Mandatory\t<\/div>
The hearth has since been \u2018sustained\u2019 (Picture: Francis Gonzalez\/SOPA Images\/Shutterstock)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The wildfire ripping through Los Gallardos, a rugged region popular with tourists in Almer\u00eda, is one in every of the deadliest on record in Spain.<\/p>\n

The blaze began on Thursday <\/a>when an influence line broke in a roadside ditch and sparked a small fire. <\/p>\n

Yet 30mph winds drove the flames up a hillside and spread them across 10 miles of dry scrubland in only two hours.<\/p>\n

Hundreds of individuals were evacuated as the fireplace spread at an \u2018unprecedented speed\u2019, regional president Juanma Moreno said<\/a> today.<\/p>\n

The flames singed 7,000 hectares across a 40km perimeter, whilst military reinforcements got here to assist firefighters. <\/p>\n

Moreno said: \u2018Geographical and meteorological circumstances have combined to create one in every of the fastest-spreading fires within the history of Andalusia, and possibly in Spain. A speed never before seen.\u2019<\/p>\n

Locals described watching their homes be \u2018devoured\u2019 by flames. <\/p>\n

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\ud83d\udde3\ufe0f”Es un infierno, se ve\u00edan las llamas que devoraban casi hasta la autov\u00eda”<\/p>\n

\ud83d\udd25V\u00edctor Fern\u00e1ndez, p\u00e1rroco de Bedar y Los Gallardos, ha relatado la angustia que viven desde hace ya muchas horas los vecinos de la zona en @HerreraenCOPE<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/NgIb53bi7X<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Ecclesia COPE (@ecclesiacope) July 10, 2026<\/a>\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n

While the wildfire has since been \u2018stabilised\u2019 as of 11am, the danger of more forest fires stays high, forest officials said on X.<\/p>\n

\u2018There\u2019s one truth that continues to be intact: zero risk doesn’t exist,\u2019 the agency said.<\/p>\n

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Get in contact with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk.<\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n

For more stories like this, <\/strong>check our news page<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Arrow<\/title>\n<\/use><\/svg>MORE: Fire tears through industrial unit in area with \u2018limited water supply\u2019<\/span><\/p>\n

Arrow<\/title>\n<\/use><\/svg>MORE: British man, 88, dies defending wife from muggers in Tenerife<\/span><\/p>\n

Arrow<\/title>\n<\/use><\/svg>MORE: Huge fire breaks out at historic constructing in Edinburgh city centre<\/span><\/p>\n

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