Spain: Crisis in Spain as bodies ‘trapped in cars’ after horror flash floods | World | News
Bodies are still trapped in cars after huge floods in Spain as emergency services continue to carry out rescue operations.
The southeast of Spain has been ravaged by flooding this week, leading to at least 95 deaths at the time of writing.
Spain’s transport minister Oscar Puente said on Thursday: “Unfortunately, there are dead people inside some vehicles.”
Rescue workers and more than 1,100 soldiers have been deployed to help.
Government minister Angel Victor Torres warned in an interview with public broadcaster TVE that the death toll is likely to rise because “there are many missing people”.
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez urged those in the affected regions to remain vigilant.
He added: “For those who are still looking for their loved ones, the whole of Spain weeps with you.”
Shocking video footage has shown the huge damage caused by floods in Spain in recent days as cars pile up on the streets and rivers overflow.
Aerial footage from a National Police helicopter shows the hundreds of cars completely still on a motorway near Valencia.
Some vehicles were even overturned after a mudslide wreaked havoc in the area on Tuesday evening.
Meanwhile, industrial estates were completely covered by water.
Speaking to Sur, a Spanish news outlet, people in Guadalhorce valley, near Malaga, said they have been left devastated.
Paco Fernández and his wife Isabel said: “We have lost our life savings.
“In less than five minutes a huge wave came and swept everything away.”
Silvia Ávila and Eleuterio Torres said: “We have been left with nothing but the clothes we have on our backs.
“The water has almost reached the roof; we have lost an entire furnished house.”
An unnamed British man, 71, is among those who lost their lives in the floods this week.
He was taken to hospital after suffering from hypothermia before having several cardiac arrests, according to the president of the Andalusian government in the south of Spain.
Experts believe that climate change played a major role in the floods.
The extreme weather came as a result of the Dana phenomenon – cold air interacting with an area of low pressure to destabilise the environment.
Meteorologists believe this phenomenon is becoming more common due to climate change.