Seven Britons among 12 foreign nationals killed in Spain’s deadly wildfires

Seven Britons are among 12 foreign nationals killed in wildfires in southern Spain, authorities said.

Officials said 12 of the 13 victims were foreign nationals after completing postmortem examinations after the fires that swept through Andalusia.

Seven were from the UK, three from Belgium and one each from France and the US. The last victim was a Spanish citizen.

“The 13 people who died are eight women and five men, all adults,” the public body responsible for identifying the victims added.

Fire broke out last Thursday in the picturesque south-eastern province of Almería, which is home to many foreign residents near the Mediterranean coast.

Flames fanned by high winds ripped through forests and scrubland made tinderbox dry by extreme high temperatures.

Among the British nationals who died were Pete and Fran Gillam, who lived in Bédar, the village that bore the brunt of the wildfires.

Their daughter Danielle Gillam-Kirton wrote 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.”

Burned-out cars litter the road leading out of Bédar, and the authorities confirmed that some victims died in their vehicles as they tried to flee.

One British man died in his car while trying to rescue his pets, according to a friend of his wife.

Penelope Howe, 54, said her friend’s husband died when flames engulfed his car during the evacuation of the Los Gallardos area of Almería province.

Emergency services initially recovered 12 bodies that were so badly burned that DNA samples were needed to identify them.

The fire, one of Spain’s deadliest in recent years and caused by an electrical cable falling on a road, devastated about 7,000 hectares (more than 17,000 acres) of land.

The flames have since been brought under control and residents have been able to return to their homes since Sunday.

Spain has in recent years experienced increasingly long and frequent heatwaves, with temperatures exceeding 40C, creating perfect conditions for wildfires.

In 2025, more than 393,000 hectares were destroyed by fire, according to the European Forest Fire Information System, the most in the country’s recent history.