British couple return to village at heart of deadly Spanish wildfire

A significant story is unfolding on the international scene. British couple return to village at heart of deadly Spanish wildfire Image caption, Emma and Simon Michell were relieved to find their home had not been damaged by the fireByNick BeakeEurope Correspondent in Bédar, south eastern SpainPublished45 minutes agoAs we climbed the winding road to Bédar, we emerged into a charred and desolate landscape. Molten car parts littered our path and out of the window we saw the whole hillside now coated in a dusty black. At least 13 people, including five believed to be Britons, were killed by Thursday's wildfire in Spain's Almeria province, one of the country's deadliest ever.

The toll rose on Sunday after a 93-year-old woman, believed to be British, died of her injuries in hospital. The identities of those killed have not yet been officially confirmed. The fire, which has now been contained, burned through about 7,000 hectares (17,300 acres) of land, authorities said.

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The breadth of the damage on display was a vivid sign of the ferocity of the flames, which had been powered by winds of up to 50 km/h (31mph). Figure caption, ‘This landscape is completely charred’: Inside the town at the centre of Spanish wildfiresBut as we drove further into the village it dawned on us just how many of the bright white Andalusian homes had seemingly been spared. "This is our house and it survived," Emma Mitchell told us with a huge sigh of relief.

She pointed across the valley to a property ringed by darkened trees and vegetation. But her eyes filled as she described driving past friends' houses that had not been so lucky. The couple were among about 600 of the nearly 1,500 people evacuated from the fire zone in Almería province who were told they could return on Sunday.

Emma and her husband Simon moved three years ago to Bédar, where they looked after 15 chickens and spent time with their three dogs. "When I look over there and I see how close we were to disaster like some of those people, that is terrifying," she said. The Mitchells said they had never been given clear instructions on how they should flee in the case of a fire.

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"Next time it would be good to get an alert on our phones. We get an alert for earthquakes that are 50 miles away but we don't get an alert for a fire that is a quarter of a kilometre away. "Image caption, The Los Gallardos area is home to many foreign residentsWe followed them back to their house where they found all of the chickens still alive.

The power and water were still working, too – despite the inferno that took hold around the house. The couple said the local police and firefighters had been outstanding. But Emma was particularly angry with those local officials who said some people who were killed – including Britons – had not followed instructions.

Addressing the authorities, she said: "You need to get your act sorted and please don't try and victim-blame afterwards.

The development has drawn wide international attention, with diplomatic circles watching closely.