The son of a Belgian man who perished in Spanish wildfires disputed authorities’ claims ‌that his father and other victims ignored official advice to shelter in place, saying the emergency services gave them no guidance.Belgian virologist Thomas-Wolf Verdonckt said he spoke to his ​father, businessman Stanislas Verdonckt (63), by phone just before 7pm Irish time on Thursday evening as the fire advanced on the mountain village of Bedar in Spain’s southeastern Almeria province.Stanislas Verdonckt was among eight victims of the wind-whipped wildfire found dead in a valley below the Paraje el Curato area where he lived on the outskirts of Bedar, according to his 33-year-old son. Verdonckt, who ​lives in Belgium, travelled to Spain after the fire and spoke with surviving neighbours.No officials told the group that the fire was heading their way or that it would be safer for them ⁠to stay at home than flee, Verdonckt said.“The people who died did not fail to follow any orders because no orders were given. No ‌information ‌was ​provided,” he said.“They only started to run when the flames were almost upon them. That was their absolute last resort.”Authorities have said local officials and police went door-to-door or telephoned residents with instructions on how to evacuate safely or to ⁠shelter in place, depending on how the fast-moving fire was advancing ​in their area.Bedar mayor Angel Collado said he urged the group including Stanislas ​Verdonckt to shelter in place.A couple drives on a quad through burned lands after a wildfire in Alfaix on Sunday. Photograph: Jorge Guerrero/AFP via Getty The Andalusian regional government, which oversees emergency services and local administration, and the Spanish Civil Guard police, which was involved in rescue efforts, ‌did not immediately respond to requests for comment on Verdonckt’s account.In ​total, 12 people – mainly foreigners like Stanislas Verdonckt and one Spaniard – died trying to escape the wildfires as they reached Bedar, which is above the ⁠town of Los Gallardos. Their identities have not been officially confirmed.A group of neighbours including his father first tried to drive away on Thursday night by a paved road but they were beaten back by flames, Verdonckt said.“They couldn’t get through via the main road because they were not warned in advance. Nobody told them that the fire was coming from that direction, and when they tried to get out, it was too late,” he said.The group then tried to flee by car in the other direction on the neighbours’ dead-end dirt lane, which hugs a mountainside. But they could not make it out, abandoned their cars and sought to escape on foot, he said.“It was not a choice. They drove ‌to the end of the trail, and ⁠when even that was in flames, some people chose to run and try to get into the valley,” he said.A neighbour who survived in his home told Verdonckt that the flames approached close enough to the house to touch, he said.Verdonckt said his father, ‌a keen hiker and photographer, had a home in the area for many years, knew the terrain well and spoke Spanish.During their final phone conversation, Verdonckt said his father debated the options ​to protect himself.Stanislas Verdonckt was always calm “even in the most desperate situations” and went over his “plan A, ​B and C”, Verdonckt said.“My father is one of the smartest people I know. He’s always very analytical and was just checking boxes: ‘Can we do this? Can we do that?’,” he said. “At that point, it was just minutes before they were engulfed and they were trapped.” Meanwhile a British couple visiting Almeria on holiday were found down a ravine, semiconscious and badly burned, ​by police who were out searching for survivors of the deadly wildfire that swept across the province.The couple are thought to have been out hiking when they were caught up in the wildfire, which started to spread rapidly on Thursday and has so far burned more than 6,000 hectares ​of the southeastern Spanish province.They were discovered by Civil Guard officers who were searching the charred landscape near the worst-hit community of Bedar for survivors or people trapped as night fell on ⁠Thursday.Sgt Pedro Barre, one of three officers involved in the search operation, said they had heard ‌a ‌sound ​far away but thought it was an echo.Following the sound and climbing down a hillside, they ⁠found the couple in critical condition, semiconscious and with severe burns ​covering 40 per cent of their bodies. They initiated a two-hour rescue operation to ​transport the couple to intensive care in hospital.“Being able to call out in the condition they were in was a titanic effort,” said Rafael Zea, another ‌of the officers involved in the operation.“We’ll never forget ​that look of surprise and emotion on their faces,” Barre added.The couple are among eight people hospitalised with burns after the wildfire, which represents ⁠one of Spain’s deadliest on record.On Saturday afternoon, ⁠after high winds eased, firefighters continued to ​beat back the flames that have forced the evacuation of at least 1,400 people from their homes.Forensic scientists in Madrid are using samples from the bodies of the ‌victims and DNA samples from the ⁠families of those reported missing to try to identify the dead.Most of those killed are thought to be British and Belgian nationals, along with one Spaniard. – Reuters