British woman dies in Spain wildfires while missing couple found alive

The death toll from southern Spain’s forest fires is rising,with British woman becoming the latest confirmed victim (Picture: Francis Gonzalez/SOPA Images/Shutterstock)

A badly burned British couple were found alive in a ravine after Spain’s worst wildfires,while another Brit died of her injuries.

The British woman was taken to the hospital after the forest fires devastated parts of Almeria,tearing through 17,300 acres in Los Gallardos since Friday.

The woman,93,had burns covering 20% of her body when she was admitted to hospital on Friday before succumbing to her injuries.

She is said to have had pre-existing medical conditions,and was one of eight people taken to hospital,four of them with serious injuries,according to regional officials.

Meanwhile,rescue teams searching for any survivors discovered a British couple alive but in critical condition lying in a rugged ravine after becoming trapped by the flames during a hike in Bedar.

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Start your day informed with Metro's News Updates newsletter or get Breaking News alerts the moment it happens.Spain’s civil guard officers were about to turn away when hearing distant cries for help.Sergeant Pedro Barr told broadcaster TVE: ‘As you gain more experience,something inside you tells you,“Look again,try one more time”.’The Los Gallardos forest fire has killed at least 13 people (Picture: REUTERS)He said they almost mistook the cries for an echo.‘We’ll never forget that look ​of surprise and emotion on their faces,’ he added.The hikers,who were semi-conscious,had suffered burns to 40% of their bodies,and were taken to the hospital.The scorched remains of a restaurant in Almocaizar,Almeria (Picture: Pablo Blazquez Dominguez/Getty Images)Another officer involved in the rescue,Rafael Zea,said: ‘Being able to call out in the condition they were in was a titanic effort.’Formal identification of the victims,none of whom have been identified yet,is being carried out using DNA from the families who reported loved ones missing in the deadly blaze,which ripped through the area popular with tourists and expats.Most of the victims are Belgian and British,along with one Spaniard.Caption: Thomas-Wolf Verdonckt,whose dad Stanislas Verdonckt,63,was killed in deadly wildfires in Bedar,has disputed authorities’ claims that some of those killed ignored orders to leave or shelter in place (Picture: REUTERS)Remains of four people thought to be British were found trapped in a right-wheel vehicle.The death toll is feared to rise as at least 23 people are missing.A British man trying to escape with his cats is believed to have died while phoning his wife as flames surrounded his car.Penelope Howe,from Wolverhampton,told The Times what happened to her friend’s husband trapped in the tragedy.Howe said: ‘She’s in deep shock. At one point,he needed to stop and she spoke to him on the phone.‘He had got the cats and was trapped in the car. They were speaking together for the last few minutes. That was how it ended.’Got a story? Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at . Or you can submit your videos and pictures here.For more stories like this,check our news page.Follow Metro.co.uk on Twitter and Facebook for the latest news updates. You can now also get Metro.co.uk articles sent straight to your device. Sign up for our daily push alerts here.