Woman rescued after three days trapped in Spanish flood tunnel
Spanish rescuers reached a woman on Saturday who had been trapped in her car since Wednesday in one of the tunnels in the province of Valencia. She is one of over a thousand people considered missing after the violent floods that hit eastern and southern Spain.
According to civil defence services, the woman was trapped in her car in the municipality of Benetússer due to the sudden catastrophe. She had been sitting in the car next to her deceased sister-in-law for three days. Local officials reported that after being freed, the victim was immediately taken to the nearest hospital.
Rescuers found the woman when they heard her desperate cry for help among a pile of abandoned vehicles. She was trapped in one of the tunnels. The flash flood likely took drivers in the area by surprise.
“After three days, we found a live person in the car,” Spanish media quoted Martín Pérez, the president of the Regional Civil Defence, who shared the joyful news with the volunteers.
Tragic number of flood casualties in Spain
After almost four days of intense rain and floods, authorities have confirmed the death of 213 people. The exact number of missing remains unknown, although some Spanish media report that over a thousand people are being searched for. From Wednesday to Saturday evening, the police received over 2,500 reports of missing persons.
The most affected province of Valencia continues to receive volunteers eager to help clear the damage and search for the missing. Over 100,000 volunteers are already operating in the region.
Saturday brought another tragic event, however. Medical services reported that in the town of Chiva near Valencia, a group of 20 volunteers suffered carbon dioxide poisoning. The volunteers cleared one of the flooded garages when the pump used during the work failed.
The tragedy in Spain is considered the biggest flood in Europe since 1967 when at least 500 people died in Portugal.
