Death toll rises to three in horrendous Spanish storms as man dies after his car got trapped in a flooded tunnel
- Middle aged man died in Almeria today after his car became trapped in tunnel
- Two passengers were rescued by police when the tunnel flooded ‘in few minutes’
- Yesterday brother and sister died when their car was swept away in Caudete
- Parts of Segura river overflowed and Orihuela had 4.7 inches of rain in six hours
A man has died after his car became trapped in a flooded tunnel in Almeria today. Pictured are rescue workers at the scene
A middle aged man has drowned after his car became trapped in a tunnel during torrential floods in southeastern Spain, bringing the death toll to three.
The latest tragedy occurred in the city of Almeria this morning when the tunnel was ‘flooded by a huge amount of water in a few minutes’.
A policeman managed to rescue two of the three people in the vehicle, but ‘one occupant remained inside the car’, said mayor Ramon Fernandez-Pacheco.
Yesterday a man, 61, and his 51-year-old sister died when their vehicle was swept away by fast-moving waters which swamped a road in Caudete, southeast of Valencia.
‘A hard and difficult night. Several locations remain on alert for torrential rains. We sadly regret a third fatality in Almeria,’ Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said in a tweet.
Almeria airport was closed on Friday due to flooding and heavy rain which was making it difficult for people to reach it, a spokeswoman for Spanish airports operator AENA said.
Just under one million passengers passed through the facility last year.
Emergency services said about 60 people were also rescued early on Friday from a campsite in the Cabo de Gata nature reserve on the coast of the province of Almeria.
Police managed to rescue two other passengers from the vehicle after the tunnel was flooded ‘by a huge amount of water in a few minutes’. Pictured are members of the Special Groups of Underwater Activities and firemen at the scene today
The man’s death this morning, pictured the flooded tunnel and rescue workers, brings the death toll during the Spanish storms to three
Elsewhere the heavy rain which started on Wednesday caused chaos on the roads, cutting public transport and prompting rivers to burst their banks, flooding homes and forcing the evacuation of hundreds of people from surrounding areas.
The torrential rain is thought to have been caused by a meteorological phenomenon called ‘cold drop’.
This often occurs in the Spanish autumn and often brings heavy rain and floods.
Footage shown on Spanish television showed cars being swept away by fast-flowing water and one person being evacuated from the roof of a building by a helicopter.
In the town of Orihuela, about 200 kilometers (124 miles) south of Valencia, the river Segura overflowed its banks at some points.
The weather service for Valencia said that 12 centimeters (4.7 inches) of rain fell in six hours in Orihuela on Friday morning.
Dozens of cars were submerged by flood water in Orihuela, in Alicante, Spain. The ‘gota fria’ or Cold Drop phenomenon is affecting the Mediterranean coast with strong winds and rainfalls
Rescue teams are also working at a flooded tunnel where several vehicles were trapped due to torrential rains in Pilar de la Horadada, Alicante, eastern Spain
Rescuers on jet skis went into a flooded tunnel in Alicante to help people out after it flooded
‘The storms have picked up and we are still in a very difficult situation due to the overflowing of the river,’ Valencia’s regional president Ximo Puig told TVE.
‘This will have important economic consequences, but right now the important thing is the wellbeing of our people.’
Mud-colored water rushed through streets, carrying away parked cars and inundating the bottom floors of houses in many towns.
RTV showed images of rescuers in a small rubber boat being towed upstream by a jet ski into a flooded tunnel where reportedly people were trapped on top of their cars.
The Spanish weather service AEMET maintained its alert for the region, saying it is ‘at extreme risk’ from torrential downpours.
Dozens of people gathered to watch a van sink on a flooded street in Pilar de la Horadada, Alicante, today
People have had to clear water out of their homes in Blanca, Murcia, Spain, after rivers burst their banks and streets flooded this week
Spanish weather service AEMET said the region is ‘at extreme risk’ from torrential downpours. Pictured is a police man working to clear a flooded street in Blanca, Murcia, yesterday
Emergency services for the region of Murcia have rescued 144 people from cars and flooded homes. Pictured are cranes removing canes under a bridge in the Segura river yesterday
Emergency services for the region of Murcia, which is south of Valencia, said that they have rescued 144 people from cars and flooded homes.
At least one person had to be rescued by a police helicopter from the roof of a building surrounded by water.
‘Nobody should leave their homes. Use your common sense,’ said Fernando Lopez Miras, the regional president for Murcia.
The authorities have urged people in the area not to drive and stay home if possible.
Schools across southeastern Spain suspended classes on Friday, as the heavy rains are set to continue.
In the region of Valencia alone, where schools were already closed on Thursday, around 536,000 students were affected, according to the regional government.
Source: Read Full Article