The young Belgian places the death of his father, 63-year-old business owner Stanislas Verdonckt, on the fateful night of last Thursday, when flames advanced across the Bédar mountain range with extreme violence and incredible speed, reaching up to 100 metres per minute.
Thomas had his last phone conversation with his father minutes before 9pm, just as the situation was becoming untenable on the outskirts of the town. The body of the business owner, who had been living in the area for years, could be one of those found alongside seven other victims in a valley below El Curato, the area where he resided.
After travelling urgently to the province of Almeria to gather information and interview surviving residents, Thomas is even more emphatic in stating that no emergency official had notified residents of the approaching firefront or indicated that staying home was the safest option.
"The people who died did not disobey any orders, as none were given to them. They were not provided with any information," the victim's son said. According to him, the group of deceased only fled on foot as a last resort when the flames were practically upon them.
His version directly contradicts the narrative of those responsible for managing the disaster. Various official spokespeople, from both the Andalusian and central governments, have stated that public officials and police patrols made phone calls and went door-to-door to advise residents on whether to evacuate or remain in their homes.
Mayor of Bédar Ángel Collado publicly stated that he had personally urged the group of residents that included Stanislas Verdonckt not to leave their homes.
The detailed account of the events paints a death trap for the group of residents, mostly foreign nationals, who attempted to escape in the narrow space between the towns of Bédar and Los Gallardos. Survivor testimonies indicate that they initially tried to flee by car using the main paved road.
However, lacking any prior warning, they were met head-on by a wall of fire that blocked their path. This would have forced them to turn back when it was already too late to find safe alternative routes.
Unable to proceed along the main road, the group turned in the opposite direction, venturing down a dead-end dirt track that runs alongside the mountainside. Upon reaching the end of the path and realising that the fire was also engulfing that flank, they were forced to abandon their vehicles and attempt to save their lives on foot, desperately trying to climb down to the valley floor as the flames reached terrifying speeds.
A resident who managed to survive by staying inside his house later told the family that the fire front had come so close to the walls of the building that the flames were almost within reach.
Thomas wants to defend his father's memory, highlighting that he was an intelligent, analytical man, a photographer and experienced hiker who knew the terrain of the Bédar and Almeria mountains perfectly and who spoke fluent Spanish.
During the final minutes of the phone call with his son, Stanislas remained calm and meticulously reviewed his options before being completely overwhelmed by the speed of the fire. He had no escape, his son insists, not because he ignored any orders, but because he hadn't received any from anyone.
The investigation into the exact circumstances remains open as the region comes to terms with the devastating blow of the tragedy.
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