Updated
Updated · BBC.com · Jul 13
Briton Survives Bédar Wildfire in Car as 13 Die Fleeing 20-kph Flames
Updated
Updated · BBC.com · Jul 13

Briton Survives Bédar Wildfire in Car as 13 Die Fleeing 20-kph Flames

3 articles · Updated · BBC.com · Jul 13

Summary

  • Malcolm Timbrell, 70, said he survived inside the last of six cars after a wildfire tore through Bédar, while his wife Annette Kilgore, 69, and 12 friends and neighbours are feared dead.
  • 20-kph flames, strong winds and dry conditions split the group as Timbrell went back for two cats; he said others abandoned their vehicles and tried to outrun the fire on foot.
  • Eight bodies were found on a path below the couple's home, and authorities said four more victims recovered in a right-hand-drive vehicle were thought to be British; a 93-year-old woman later died in hospital.
  • DNA identification is still pending for some victims, while British expats have criticized the lack of a mobile-phone alert in one of Spain's deadliest wildfires.

Insights

Officials blamed victims, but residents heard no warnings. What is the truth behind Bédar's deadly evacuation chaos?
As mega-fires become Europe's new normal, is the dream of a Mediterranean retirement turning into a deadly illusion?
A man saved his cat but lost his wife. When evacuation warnings fail, who is to blame for such impossible choices?