A BRITISH man has paid tribute to his wife and friends feared to have been killed in last week’s deadly Almeria wildfire.
Malcolm Timbrell, 70, and his wife Annette Kilgore, 69, lived in the popular expat village of Bedar after buying their dream property together on the Channel 4 programme A Place in the Sun.
Miraculously, Malcolm survived the blaze, but tragically believes his wife and friends did not after they became separated as the flames raced towards their home.
“You’d never imagine it could happen,” he told the BBC, “And when it does, and you’re the only survivor, then you’re left in a situation of, ‘What can I do?’
“She was such a happy outgoing person. We have had an amazing life together – and now it’s stopped.”
The couple and neighbours made the decision to flee their homes as the fire, which would become one of the deadliest in Spanish history, neared at speeds of up to 100 metres per minute.
The group tried to escape by car, but Malcolm chose to return to his house for their cats, Charlie and Lily.
“If we’d have done the sensible thing and gone the other way and let our cats die, we both would be alive. But when you’ve got animals, you don’t think like that.,” Malcolm said.
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With both cats in his arms, Malcolm attempted to catch up but saw that the remainder of the group were out of their vehicles.
“My wife and our other seven friends and neighbours – against me screaming at them not to – decided the only safe way was to walk out in front of the firewall.
“I’ve subsequently heard that the fire wall was moving at 20km/h hour, plus. They had no chance.
“Of the six cars, four of them instantly combusted and as each one started to go, I moved back one car.
“For some reason of fate, the last two cars, although very, very badly singed and paint bubbled and burnt, survived. And I survived inside the last one with a cat.”
Malcolm was rescued by emergency services, but the bodies of eight people were soon discovered on a path down from the couple’s property.
The wildfire, which broke out near the town of Los Gallardos on Thursday, has killed 13 people so far, making it the deadliest in Andalucia since records began.
British grandparents Pete and Fran Gillam have been identified as two of the victims after the identities of six of the deceased were revealed on Monday.
The Olive Press reported early on Monday that US national Ana Sims, from Nebraska, and her husband, Pedro Rodriguez, from Huelva, were feared dead in the blaze.
Authorities have since identified another two victims as an American woman and her Spanish husband, according to Spanish media reports.
A 93-year-old woman who died from her injuries in hospital on Sunday has also been identified as British.
The inferno is believed to have been caused by a power line that fell to the ground beside the N-340A road, igniting a patch of dry vegetation.
Driven by soaring temperatures and winds of up to 50km/h, the blaze spread at a devastating speed of around 100 metres per minute through surrounding woodland towards Bedar, forcing the evacuation of around 1,000 residents.
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