A Briton, whose wife and 12 friends and neighbors are feared dead in the recent bushfire in southern Spain, has told how he became separated from them as flames moved rapidly towards his home.

Malcolm Timbrell, 70, and his wife, Annette Kilgore, 69, lived in the town of Bédar, in the province of Almería, which was devastated by flames last Thursday night, leaving 13 dead.

The survivor, visibly affected, spoke to the BBC in front of his destroyed house, located at the top of the hillside.

“You would never imagine something like this could happen,” he says. “And when it happens, and you're the only survivor, you're left in a situation where you're wondering, 'What can I do?'"

“Annette was such a happy, outgoing person,” Malcolm describes his partner of 17 years. “We've had a wonderful life together, and now it's over.”

Thursday's forest fire is one of the deadliest in the history of Spain. It spread quickly, devastating Bédar, forcing Malcolm, Annette and their friends to make the quick decision to flee.

When the flames, fanned by strong winds, approached their property on Thursday, the couple and their neighbors decided to try to escape by car.

The error of returning

But Malcolm chose to return home to find his cats, Charlie and Lilly.

"If we had done the sensible thing and let our cats die, we would both be alive. But when you have animals, you don't think like that," he says.

Once both cats were safe, Malcolm says he tried to catch up with the group, but saw that they had gotten out of their vehicles.

“My wife and seven other friends and neighbors, despite my shouts not to do it, decided the only safe way was to walk out in front of the firebreak,” he says.

"I later learned that that fire wall was moving at more than 20 kilometers per hour. They didn't have a chance."

Finding himself alone in the middle of the chaotic situation, Malcolm explains that he tried to take refuge in the now abandoned cars: “Of the six vehicles, four of them caught fire instantly and, as each one began to burn, I backed up one car,” he says.

“For some reason of fate, the last two cars, although very, very charred and with blistered and burned paint, survived,” he adds.

“And I survived inside the last one with a cat.”

Eventually the flames stopped and Malcolm was rescued by emergency services.

However, the bodies of eight people were later discovered on a path leading down from the couple's home.

Four large burn marks can still be seen where four charred vehicles were discovered.

Local authorities said four other victims of the fire, recovered in a vehicle with the steering wheel in front of the right-hand seat, were believed to be British.

Not all of the people who died in the forest fire have yet been identified, but Spanish authorities reported that among the victims there are three Britons and one citizen of each of the following countries: France, Belgium and Spain.

One of them was a 93-year-old woman, apparently British, who died from her injuries in hospital on Sunday.

Many British expats in the town of Bédar have criticized the lack of a mobile phone alert system, but Malcolm did not want to blame anyone.

“No one is to blame for this”

The local authorities “did not have time to bring in the seaplanes before nightfall,” he explains, adding: “The helicopters could not take off due to the smoke.”

With strong winds, dry land and soaring temperatures, Malcolm believes there couldn't be a worse combination.

"It's no one's fault. No one is to blame for this."

Malcolm says he is overwhelmed by the support from friends of all nationalities.

He and Annette moved to Spain after many years sailing together.

Both had previously lost their partners to terminal illnesses and shared a passion for traveling and making new friends.

The couple hoped to spend their final years together in the tranquility of the Andalusian countryside.

"There is still a small spark of hope, although I know that a body has been found hugging a cat. The facts, cold and hard, point to the bodies that have been found," he comments.

Malcolm says the local police have also been a great help and kept him on top of their work.

But he fears what will happen in the coming days, when he realizes the magnitude of his loss.

"So now we just have to wait for DNA confirmation. And after that, I'll probably break down," he admits.

Additional reporting by Kostas Kallergis and Juan Domínguez.

This article was originally written in English and we used an artificial intelligence tool to translate it. A BBC journalist reviewed the text before publication. Learn more about how we use AI.