Spain identifies 13 wildfire victims in Andalusia, 12 are foreign nationals including seven Britons

Victims identified

Spanish authorities completed the identification of all 13 victims of the Los Gallardos wildfire on Tuesday, the Integrated Data Centre (CID) announced. The dead include seven British nationals, three Belgians, one French citizen, one American, and one Spanish citizen. Eight of the victims were women and five were men, all adults. Twelve bodies were recovered from the fire site, while a 93-year-old woman died later in hospital. The fire is now the deadliest wildfire in Andalusia's history.

How the fire unfolded

The blaze ignited on the evening of 10 July after an electrical cable supplying abandoned infrastructure fell onto a road near Los Gallardos. High winds and extreme temperatures, with readings exceeding 40C in the region, fanned the flames into a fast-moving wall of fire. The fire consumed approximately 7,000 hectares (more than 17,000 acres) of forests and scrubland before being brought under control. Burned-out cars littered the roads leading out of Bédar, the village that bore the brunt of the blaze. Authorities confirmed that some victims died in their vehicles attempting to flee. Residents evacuated from the area began returning to their homes on Sunday 13 July.

Survivor accounts

Malcolm Timbrell, a 70-year-old Briton who lived in Bédar with his partner Annette Kilgore, 69, survived the fire by sheltering inside an abandoned car. He told the BBC that Kilgore and their friends left their vehicles on foot as flames closed in.

My wife and our seven friends and neighbours, while I was shouting at them not to do it, decided the only way to safety was to walk ahead of the flame front. I later learned that wall of fire was moving at more than 20 kilometres per hour. They had no chance.

Timbrell said four of the six cars caught fire instantly, but he survived inside one vehicle with a cat. His hillside home was destroyed. Among the British dead were Pete and Fran Gillam, a couple who also lived in Bédar. Their daughter Danielle Gillam-Kirton confirmed their deaths on Facebook.

We are heartbroken to share that we have received confirmation from the police that Mum and Dad did not survive the fire. Thank you for all your love, support and prayers over the past few days. They have meant more to us than we can ever express.

Gillam-Kirton said her mother had texted on Thursday evening to say they were evacuating, but the couple were not heard from again.

Official response

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez visited emergency crews in Andalusia and linked the disaster to broader environmental challenges.

The climate emergency kills.

Sanchez called for authorities to prevent rather than only react to such catastrophes. The Belgian foreign ministry urged travellers to consult its travel advice, warning that this summer the risk of wildfires in southern Europe is particularly high and recommending citizens register on the Travellers Online platform for emergency contact. The UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office said it was supporting British nationals affected and their families.

A worsening pattern

Spain has experienced increasingly frequent and prolonged heatwaves, with temperatures regularly exceeding 40C and creating tinderbox conditions. In 2025, more than 393,000 hectares were destroyed by fire across the country, the worst annual toll in Spain's recent history according to the European Forest Fire Information System. Preliminary investigations point to the fallen electrical cable as the probable ignition source for the Los Gallardos fire, after which the flames advanced with exceptional speed. Authorities have not ruled out the possibility that the death toll could still rise.