Spanish wildfires claim 13th victim as British woman, 93, dies of injuries
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The woman, 93, was among eight people admitted to hospital following the fire, four of whom sustained serious injuries.
PHOTO: REUTERS
- A 93-year-old British woman died from burns sustained in the Almeria wildfires, raising the death toll to 13 in one of Spain's deadliest fires.
- Authorities are working with France, Britain, and Belgium to register missing people, with 10 reported missing and some victims unconfirmed.
- The fire is now contained; over 1,000 residents returned home, but officials warn of frequent summer wildfires in Andalusia, urging continued vigilance.
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LOS GALLARDOS, Spain – A British woman has died of injuries sustained in wildfires that swept through Spain’s south-eastern Almeria province starting on July 9, bringing the total number killed to 13, the regional government said at night on July 12.
The woman, 93, was among eight people admitted to hospital following the fire, four of them with serious injuries.
The Andalusian regional government said in a statement that the woman, who had pre-existing medical conditions, had been admitted to the emergency room in the early hours of July 10 with burns covering 20 per cent of her body.
Regional emergency chief Antonio Sanz expressed condolences to the family of the woman and others killed in one of Spain’s deadliest wildfires, which burned more than 7,000ha in the Los Gallardos municipality.
Spain’s forensic services data unit, the CID, said at night on July 12 that two more people had been reported missing after it started working with the authorities in France, Britain and Belgium to formally register their cases, bringing the total to 10.
The CID said in a statement it was now allowing family members overseas to report their loved ones missing and provide DNA samples in their countries of origin, and it expected to receive more reports in the coming days.
The authorities have not formally identified the dead, which may include some of the individuals reported as missing.
The Belgian government said on July 12 it believed there were three Belgian nationals among the victims of the Los Gallardos fires.
One of those was 63-year-old Belgian businessman Stanislas Verdonckt, whose son, Belgian virologist Thomas-Wolf Verdonckt, said he was last in contact with his father by phone just before 9pm on July 9.
Verdonckt told Reuters that his father and his father’s neighbours received no warning or advice from the authorities and opted to try to escape on foot when the flames were almost upon them. The Andalusian regional government said the local mayor had advised the group to shelter in place.
The president of the regional government of Andalusia, Juanma Moreno, posted on social media at midday on July 12 that the fire had been contained and its perimeter secured.
More than 1,000 residents were given the all-clear to return to their homes in the evacuated villages north of Los Gallardos in the afternoon on July 12.
Moreno urged citizens to remain vigilant throughout the summer, noting that in Andalusia, Spain’s most populous region, an average of 15 forest fires were breaking out every day, rising at times to as many as 22.
Iranian-born Briton Cameron Karoonian, 72, said he hoped he still had a home to go to.
“And then we just need to go and pick up where we left (off), really,” he said.
“Get on living and find the cats, make sure they’re okay and put it behind us, really.” REUTERS