An expat who died in a wildfire texted ‘we stupidly waited too long’ moments before being engulfed by flames.
Ana Sims was one of the many lives sadly lost in the horrendous wildfires which have plagued Spain and France this summer.
The 73-year-old was one of the many foreign nationals caught in the most devastating wildfire in Almería, Andalucía, Spain’s history.
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The American photographer had lived with her husband Pedro Rodriguez in the Bedar area for the last 40 years.
On 14 Jul, the married couple was confirmed as one of the 14 people who lost their lives in the fire, as reported by Need To Know.
The pair had reportedly tried to outrun the flames in their car before being trapped in the inferno.
Their bodies were discovered in their burnt-out vehicle by the emergency services.
Ana sent a flurry of WhatsApp messages to a friend moments before she and her husband were engulfed by flames.
The texts were sent to Lenox Napier, where she confirmed the wildfire was across the road from their home.
Harrowingly, one of the messages reads: ‘We’re out but there’s hardly anywhere to go. We stupidly waited too long’, as reported by the Olive Press.
Silence followed the messages sent on 9 Jul, with Napier left fearing the worst.
In an exclusive interview with the Olive Press, the 72-year-old claimed there was a ‘growing pain’ inside him that Ana had been caught in the fire.
The couple’s deaths were confirmed on 14 Jul.
Napier told the Olive Press: “I kept telling myself that maybe Ana wasn’t texting anymore because she had no coverage.
“But there was this growing pain inside me that told me she hadn’t made it.”
The five-day wildfires scorched over 7,000 hectares and left 1,500 people evacuated from their homes.
The victims also included seven Brits, three Belgians and one French national.
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