The son of a Belgian man who reportedly died in Spanish wildfires claimed that local authorities did not provide any safety guidance, disputing information that his father had ignored official orders.
63-year-old Stanislas Verdonckt is among the victims of a wildfire that broke out on Thursday in Andalusia, in the south of Spain, his son Thomas-Wolf Verdonckt, told Reuters on Saturday.
Verdonckt, 33, said he last spoke to his father on Thursday night, when the flames moved towards the mountain village of Bédar, where his father lives on the outskirts. His father reportedly died while trying to flee the fire with a group of neighbours.
According to the son, surviving neighbours in Spain said that officials had not informed them that the fire was approaching and that they would be safer at home rather than trying to escape.
"The people who died did not fail to follow any orders because no orders were given. No information was provided," he told Reuters.
Andalusia's regional government denied Verdonckt's claims in a statement to Reuters on Sunday, saying that his father and the rest of the group were urged to take shelter by Bédar's mayor.
The regional government further explained that, because the safety advice varied by location, no informative text alert was sent. Instead, local authorities went door-to-door or called residents to tell them how to evacuate the area or to take shelter.
At least 13 people died in the fire in Andalusia, which has been contained since Sunday morning.
The Belgian Ministry of Foreign Affairs said on Sunday that it believes there are three Belgians among the victims of the fire.
"Official confirmation from the Spanish authorities could take a few days’ as it requires examinations of the bodies that have been found,” a spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs added.
