British couple confirmed to have been killed by deadly wildfires in Spain | Wildfires

While authorities are trying to use DNA to identify those who failed to escape the fire, it was announced that the two victims of the forest fires that killed 13 people in Spain were a British couple.

Pete and Fran Gillam, who live in the village of Bédar, which was hardest hit by the bushfires on Thursday, are not believed to have survived.

Their daughter, Danielle Gillam-Kirton, wrote on Facebook: “We are saddened 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 mean more to us than we can express.”

The family had been searching for the couple since Thursday. Gillam-Kirton’s mother texted her around 19:00 that evening, informing her that they were evacuating, but the couple has not been heard from since then. Messages and calls failed to reach either parent.

Since most of the victims were in such poor condition that it was impossible to identify them without DNA samples, relatives of the missing persons were asked to go to the local civil office to obtain DNA samples.

Spanish authorities confirmed that the first victims identified on Monday included a British couple, as well as a Spanish man and his British wife. It was also determined that the victims were citizens from the USA, France and Belgium.

These were the first people identified from the 12 bodies found at the center of the fire. A 93-year-old British woman injured in a fire died in hospital, Andalusia regional authorities said on Sunday.

Authorities have warned that the number of missing people will remain uncertain until autopsies and identification of the bodies are completed. Officials coordinating the identification efforts said on Sunday that 10 official reports of missing persons had been submitted.

The fire ripped through the picturesque village, home to many Britons, moving so fast that some were unable to escape. Burnt cars litter the road leading out of Bédar, and authorities have confirmed that the passengers in these vehicles were burned alive inside their cars as they tried to escape.

At least four more British victims are likely after bodies were found in the burnt body of a right-hand drive Honda Accord.

A British man died in his car trying to save his pets, a friend said. Penelope Howe, 54, said her friend’s husband died when flames engulfed his car during the evacuation of the Los Gallardos region of Almería state.

Howe, who lives near Bédar, said: “He is in deep shock. At one point he had to stop and she spoke to him on the phone. He took the cats and he was trapped in the car. They had been talking together for the last few minutes. That’s how it all ended.”

A brutal heatwave scorched much of Europe, including Spain, and was blamed for the tinderbox-like conditions that made the wildfire so intense. Dry vegetation and high temperatures are fueling fires from the Iberian peninsula to France. Scientists believe the fires are getting worse due to the climate crisis, which has accelerated recent heat waves.

“Climate change is having a huge impact here and we are in climate chaos, with almost unheard of, exceptional and increasingly explosive situations,” said Juanma Moreno, leader of Andalusia’s regional government.

A Foreign Office spokesman said: “Our thoughts are with everyone affected by the devastating bushfires in Spain. We support the British nationals and their families affected and remain in close contact with the Spanish authorities.”