Overview
- José Miguel Basset, testifying Monday to a congressional inquiry, said a mass phone alert was proposed soon after the 5 p.m. crisis meeting yet the first Es-Alert reached the public at 8:11 p.m., by which time officials counted at least 154 deaths.
- He said an early draft urged people to stay at home, but that instruction was removed from the message that went out, and he said he does not know who changed it or why the send was delayed.
- He rejected ex-official Emilio Argüeso’s claim that he hid the withdrawal of firefighters from the Poyo ravine, calling the accusation absolutely false.
- He added that Spain’s Military Emergency Unit was present from the first moment and he criticized the crisis center for including people who did not contribute to decisions.
- He described overwhelming demand on local crews with about 3,500 calls and hundreds of early interventions, while ongoing court and parliamentary probes now focus on whether faster, clearer phone alerts could have kept more people from venturing outside or to low-lying garages.