Spain rescuers search underground parking as fresh flooding hits Barcelona
Spanish rescuers are focusing their search for missing people on underground garages and a multi-storey car park following last week’s devastating floods in Valencia.
It is feared shoppers and workers were trapped inside the car park at a shopping mall in Aldaia on the outskirts of Valencia, as floodwater deluged the area.
Police have confirmed that no victims were located in the first 50 vehicles inspected at the site.
But reports suggest these vehicles were found near the entrance to the car park, and much of the rest of it is still submerged and yet to be explored.
It comes as Spain’s State Meteorological Agency (AEMET) placed part of the north-eastern Catalonia region on red alert for torrential rain, with its capital Barcelona experiencing flooding on Monday morning.
Catalan media showed footage of cars partially submerged on a highway and floodwater entering a bus.
Water has also entered parts of the city’s El Prat airport including the public area of Terminal 1 and more than 60 flights have been cancelled, delayed or diverted. Rail services have been suspended.
The death toll after a year’s worth of rain fell in parts of the region last week now stands at 217.
They include a missing British couple in their 70s, whose family confirmed they had been found dead in their car days after the flash floods hit the region.
On Monday morning Spain’s interior minister refused to place a number on those still missing.
The storm caught many victims in their vehicles on roads and in underground spaces such as car parks, tunnels and garages where rescue operations are particularly difficult.
EPA