Briton recounts surviving Spain wildfire in car while friends lost

Sun Sep 06 2026 06:04:17 GMT+0000 (Coordinated Universal Time)

Malcolm Timbrell survived a deadly wildfire in Andalusia after the fire destroyed his home and claimed the lives of his wife and friends.

British ex‑spokesperson Malcolm Timbrell escaped a blazing wildfire in Spain after keeping his cats safe in a vehicle. While his wife Annette Kilgore and eleven friends were feared killed, he survived and later was rescued by emergency workers. Firefighters discovered bodies along the path down from their house, confirming dozens of deaths among local residents and foreign nationals. The blaze, fueled by high winds and dry conditions, devastated Bédar and claimed a total of 13 confirmed fatalities. Malcolm’s account underscores the chaos of wildfires, the desperate choices people make, and the urgent need for reliable emergency alerts for expatriates. Local authorities continue to investigate the tragedy, awaiting DNA confirmations of bodies recovered from the charred area. The story highlights the danger of natural disasters, the importance of evacuation plans, and the heartbreaking loss of life in Spain’s most lethal wildfire in modern history.

Briton recounts surviving Spain wildfire in car while friends lost

Malcolm Timbrell, 70, survived a deadly wildfire in Bédar, Andalusia, by steering a car to keep his two cats safe, after the fire destroyed his home and claimed the lives of his wife Annette Kilgore and eleven friends.

The flames, ignited last Thursday evening, tore through the village with four kilometres of high‑speed winds, leaving 13 confirmed deaths and eight bodies found along the roadside after the blaze passed.

Timbrell told the BBC that, as the fire rushed to their houses, he and his wife had chosen to drive away, saving their cats but leaving his friends to attempt an escape in front of the advancing fire line.

“The fire was moving at about twenty kilometres a hour,” he said, adding that none of the six cars in his convoy caught fire until he was left in the last, badly singed vehicle where the catastrophe paused long enough for him to be rescued.

The rescue team later discovered eight bodies in a path from the couple’s house, including a British man suspected to be a former resident of the area, and four vehicles that were found burnt out.

Local authorities have reported that victims included three Britons, one French, one Belgian, and one Spanish national, with a 93‑year‑old woman later dying of injuries in hospital.

Critics of the incident cite the absence of a timely mobile phone alert system for expatriates, though Timbrell emphasised that he does not blame anyone for the tragedy.

He expressed gratitude for the support of international friends and stated he feared the emotional toll as metropolitan police work and forensic identification continue.

“I’ll probably fall apart once we get the DNA confirmation,” he said, reflecting the deep personal loss incurred in what became Spain’s deadliest wildfire in recent memory.

He and his wife, who first appeared on Channel 4’s “A Place in the Sun,” had moved to Spain for the tranquil countryside life and were forced to confront the rapid progression of a natural disaster that took ‘an amazing life together’ and turned it ‘stopped’ within minutes.