The son of a Belgian man who died in the fires questions the authorities’ claims that his father and other victims ignored official recommendations to take refuge in their homes, and asserts that emergency services gave them no guidance.
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Belgian virologist Thomas-Wolf Verdonckt explained on Saturday that he spoke by phone with his father, 63-year-old businessman Stanislas Verdonckt, shortly before 9 p.m. on Thursday night, when the fire was advancing towards the mountain town of Bédar.
Stanislas Verdonckt was one of the eight victims of the wind-fueled fire found dead in a valley below the Paraje el Curato area, where he lived on the outskirts of Bédar, according to his 33-year-old son. Verdonckt, who lives in Belgium, traveled to Spain after the fire and spoke with surviving neighbors.
No official told the group that the fire was heading towards them, nor that it would be safer to stay at home than to flee, Verdonckt claims. “The people who died did not disobey any orders because no orders were given. No information was provided,” he says. “They only started running when the flames were almost on top of them. That was their absolute last resort.”
Official version
The mayor of Bédar, Ángel Collado, has stated that he urged the group including Stanislas Verdonckt to take refuge in their homes
So far, the official account from the authorities has been that local officials and police went door to door or called residents by phone with instructions on how to safely evacuate or take refuge in their homes, depending on how the rapidly spreading fire was advancing in their area. Meanwhile, the mayor of Bédar, Ángel Collado, has stated that he urged the group including Stanislas Verdonckt to take refuge in their homes.
A group of neighbors, including Thomas-Wolf Verdonckt’s father, first tried to drive away on Thursday night along a paved road, but the flames forced them to turn back, according to Verdonckt’s account. “They couldn’t get through the main road because they were not warned in advance. No one told them the fire was coming from that direction, and when they tried to leave, it was already too late,” he says.
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The group then tried to flee by car in the opposite direction along the neighbors’ dead-end dirt road, which skirts the mountainside. But they couldn’t get out, abandoned the vehicles, and sought to escape on foot, he says. “It was not a choice. They drove to the end of the road and, when even that was on fire, some people chose to run and try to get into the valley,” adds the deceased’s son.
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A neighbor who survived in his home told Verdonckt that the flames came close enough to touch the house, he recounted. Verdonckt said his father, an enthusiastic hiker and photographer, had had a house in the area for many years, knew the terrain well, and spoke Spanish.
During their last phone conversation, Verdonckt said his father weighed the options to protect himself. Stanislas Verdonckt always remained calm “even in the most desperate situations” and reviewed his “plan A, B, and C,” says his son.
“My father is one of the smartest people I know. He is always very analytical and was simply ticking boxes: ‘Can we do this? Can we do that?’” he said. “At that moment, there were only minutes left before they would be engulfed by the flames and trapped.”
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