The tragic countdown of the missing list from the Almeria fire

Turre (Almeria)First, he says a name that she doesn't recognize at first, and then he takes out his mobile and shows her a photograph of a woman. "Oh, yes, I know who it is, I haven't seen her. Is she one of the missing or is she dead?". This conversation is repeated over and over among the neighbors of the municipalities most affected by the Almeria fire, especially in Bédar, where the thirteen fatalities of the fire were from. As the hours pass, however, they begin to discover that the two questions have the same answer: yes, she was one of the missing and she is dead.

Although it has been explained from the outset that the fire has left 23 people unidentified, sources from the Civil Guard insist that the balance they primarily use to search for missing persons is the reports from people saying they cannot contact a family member. So far, there have been ten reports. The same sources point out that the fact that the vast majority of fatalities are of foreign origin and, moreover, are retired couples – they did not live with children or relatives – means that it is not always easy to identify the lifeless bodies they have found. In recent days, there have been many plane journeys, especially from the United Kingdom, of relatives going to the Civil Guard station in Garrucha, next to the beach and the pavilion where the evacuees were sleeping, to hand in DNA samples to see if they match one of the deceased. A Civil Guard officer standing at the station's door says he can't say anything, but that more and more people are being identified.

Right now, the official information is that ten out of thirteen victims have been identified. They were one Spanish citizen and the rest foreigners, from the United Kingdom, France, Belgium, and the United States. Meanwhile, the fire entered the control phase this Monday after they managed to stabilize it on Saturday.

The worst genetic coincidence

On Facebook, calls to find missing persons from an association in the area can still be seen. It is a charitable organization that had strong roots among the British community in the Almeria area and has made more than one appeal to find missing persons after some relatives contacted them from their countries of origin. The organization asks not to publicize the names of the people who will appear below. Like that of a British woman. Her family has asked for help to find her. The organization has made her photo public, forwarded by friends and acquaintances. Finally, a few hours ago they received the bad news: she is among the deceased. Her family does not know yet. This unfortunate situation is repeated in the case of a man, also British, of advanced age. "We had not lost hope until the last moment," they explain from the organization. He was missing, calls had been made to find him, but the DNA tests have come back positive. The worst genetic coincidence.

The Civil Guard dedicated efforts this Sunday to searching for bodies in the most affected areas. Police sources explain that they mainly moved through the Sierra de Bédar area, not far from the point where the vast majority of people died when they decided to get out of their cars and try to flee on foot. The residents insist they did nothing wrong, that they evacuated as everyone else did, but they had the worst luck. The police deployed dogs, drones, and agents on the ground, but nothing was found. This Monday, sources from the operation explain, there have been no further in-depth searches. The police are confident that the deceased individuals match those reported missing and that those not located are either because they have returned to their country of origin or because it is difficult to contact them as they are foreigners, but that they are well.

Their absences are most apparent as residents have been able to return to their villages after three days of evacuation. In Lubrín, the municipality towards which the fire was heading and with some very affected developments like El Marchal, the Town Hall has gone house to house checking that everyone was well and that no one was missing. Fortunately, everyone is safe and sound. The village wants to return to normality, and that means the water and electricity returning through the pipes and burnt poles. That grass grows again from the ashes. Right now, its mayor, Domingo José Ramos Camacho, explains that they are far from that scenario.

New fire

It was already late when they saw smoke again. It was coming from the road leading to Lubrín. Fortunately, there were still extinguishing teams, firefighters, and personnel from the Military Emergencies Unit (UME), who quickly arrived at the scene and were able to control the fire in half an hour. The mayor admits that if they hadn't been nearby, it could have escaped, that "the mountain would have burned again." This Monday, at this point in Almería, there was also suffocating heat and a bit of a gentle wind. Right now, everything suggests that it all started with a burning cigarette that someone had thrown on the roadside.

The mayor learned about this new fire after a meeting with the Spanish Prime Minister, Pedro Sánchez, who was at the control center in Turre this Monday. He informed him that "prevention is essential, that there are neighborhoods that are currently like gunpowder, that firebreaks must be made in winter." Was an ES-Alert necessary? The mayor admits that with the area they have, full of scattered houses, it is difficult to apply. However, he does say that response times must improve. "We have suffered four fires in less than a year and we have put out almost all of them ourselves, the councilors and municipal workers," he states, concluding: "We need them to arrive faster."