More than 50 people have died in flooding in parts of Spain as torrential rain turned streets into rivers and disrupted transport services.
The rain storms on Tuesday covered southern and eastern parts of the country, including the Costa del Sol region with the cities of Valencia and Malaga both impacted.
Pictures showed emergency workers wading through mud-coloured waters to rescue people, while cars and van appeared stranded. More than 1,000 soldiers from Spain’s emergency response units have been deployed to the the worst-hit areas.
On Wednesday morning, the regional government of Valencia, confirmed that 51 people had died in the floods.
Carlos Mazon, the regional leader of Valencia, told a press conference some people remained isolated in inaccessible locations as searches continued for those unaccounted for.
Emergency services have urged people to avoid road travel and to follow further updates from official sources.
Spain’s state weather agency AEMET declared a red alert in Valencia, with some areas such as the towns of Turis and Utiel having recorded 7.9 inches of rainfall.
The mayor of Utiel, Ricardo Gabaldon told national broadcaster RTVE. He said several people were still missing in his town.
“We were trapped like rats. Cars and trash containers were flowing down the streets. The water was rising to three meters,” he said.
Also on Tuesday, a high-speed train with nearly 300 people on board derailed near Malaga, although rail authorities said no one was hurt. High-speed train service between Valencia city and Madrid was interrupted, as were several commuter lines.
Mr Mazon urged people to stay at home so as not to complicate rescue efforts, with travel by road already difficult due to fallen trees and wrecked vehicles.
Spain’s central government set up a crisis committee to help coordinate rescue efforts.
The rain had subsided in Valencia by late Wednesday morning. But more storms were forecast through Thursday, according to Spain’s national weather service.
This is a breaking story – more to follow