Thursday, November 21, 2024

British man, 71, dies after being rescued from torrential Spanish flash floods

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The British man, aged 71, died hours after being rescued from his home in the outskirts of Alhaurin de la Torre, Malaga. He is ene of at least 95 people who have lost their lives in the flash floods this week

A car submerged in muddy water in Malaga, Spain(Image: Copyright 2024 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.)

A 71 -year-old British man has tragically died after being rescued from the devastating floods in Spain, according to a local official.

The man, whose identity has not been disclosed, passed away in hospital due to hypothermia and cardiac arrests, hours after his rescue from his home on the outskirts of Alhaurin de la Torre, Malaga.


Juanma Moreno, the president of the Andalusian government, confirmed the news on Wednesday and expressed his condolences to the Briton’s family via X, formerly known as Twitter. The catastrophic flash floods in eastern Spain have claimed at least 95 lives, causing cars to be swept away, transforming village streets into rivers, and disrupting rail lines and major roads.

It’s the worst natural disaster the country has seen in recent times. Mud coloured water swept through areas from Malaga down to Valencia’s east coast yesterday, whilst emergency service teams took rubber dinghy boats to rescue people around the wreckage.

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Train tracks affected by floods in Paiporta, near Valencia, Spain
Train tracks affected by floods in Paiporta, near Valencia, Spain(Image: Copyright 2024 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.)

A raft of terrifying images and videos are being shared on social media showing cars being swept away by the flood following torrential rain on Tuesday. The rainstorms on Tuesday resulted in widespread flooding across southern and eastern Spain, ranging from Malaga to Valencia.

The floods sent vehicles hurtling down streets in torrents of mud-coloured water, while debris including pieces of wood and household items swirled around. Rescue services utilised helicopters to evacuate people from their homes and rubber boats to reach drivers stranded on car roofs.


Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez stated that dozens of towns had been inundated by the floods He said: “For those who are looking for their loved ones, all of Spain feels your pain. Our priority is to help you. We are putting all the resources necessary so that we can recover from this tragedy.”

According to Spain’s national weather service, AEMET, storms are expected to persist until Thursday. Valencia is predicted to be the hardest hit by the storm, with forecasts suggesting more than 3.5 inches (90mm) of rainfall in less than an hour, or 180 mm in less than 12 hours.

By Thursday, the majority of warnings have been removed, although yellow warnings for rain and hail remain in the Castellon region and for Tarragona. Yellow warning warnings for rain are in place for the south west region.

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