A married father of two has died after falling through a roof while working on an outbuilding, despite his wife's desperate warnings to come down due to safety concerns. This heartbreaking incident marks the second tragedy to strike the family, following the earlier loss of their son.
A Day That Turned Tragic
Dries Soete, aged 36, had spent the morning of Valentine's Day taking his eldest son to football practice before surprising his wife, Dina Vangheluwe, with gifts including a scented candle, perfume, and roses. In the afternoon, he decided to finish work on a large outbuilding behind their home in Beerst, Belgium, which the family had moved into just six months earlier.
Dina, who works night shifts, was asleep at the time, while their youngest son was with his grandmother and their eldest was at a friend's house. Dries was on the roof, trimming ivy, when family members saw him and warned him about the unstable structure.
Warnings Ignored
"We saw Dries on the roof, trimming ivy, and warned him," Dina recalled. "We told him to come down because the roof didn't look sturdy enough." Dries responded, "I know what I'm doing," and continued walking carefully along the beams under the sheets.
Later, Dina woke suddenly from a bad dream and called out to Dries, but received no answer. She found him lying in a strange position after he had fallen through the corrugated sheets of a skylight in the roof. "I knew immediately it was serious," she said.
Emergency Response
Dina immediately called emergency services and her mother. Paramedics and a medical helicopter arrived, administering medication and performing resuscitation efforts, but nothing could revive Dries. He was pronounced dead at the scene.
A Family's Double Tragedy
This incident is the second tragedy to hit the family, following the death of their middle son, Léon. Dries and Dina had been together for 14 years and had two sons, aged six and three. Dina described Dries as "the best father - a man with a golden heart. Always ready to help, always caring, always cracking a joke."
Dina explained that Dries had recently decided to spend more weekends with his family. "He worked hard but had decided this year to spend weekends with me and the children. Somehow, it actually happened, and we were so happy," she said.
Background and Plans
Dries ran his own crane and groundworks business, which he started five years ago. The outbuilding he was working on was not just for business purposes; he was primarily preparing it for their eldest son's communion. "The moment we saw the house with the outbuilding, we were both sold," Dina told local media. "We wanted to make something beautiful out of it."
The family's move to the property six months ago was meant to be a fresh start, but now they face another devastating loss. Community members and local authorities have expressed their condolences, highlighting the profound impact of this double tragedy on the family and the wider community in Belgium.
