the essential
The death toll of 217 from floods in the Valencia region of Spain could rise sharply. A huge underground car park of a shopping center has not yet been able to be probed by the firefighters. They fear what they will discover there.
Anger is growing day after day in Spain among flood victims. King Felipe VI, Queen Letizia and Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez were able to see this at midday on Sunday by visiting the town of Paiporta. Faced with a threatening crowd who called them “assassins”, the sovereigns had to cut short their visit with mud on their clothes and faces.
According to the latest report, the floods left 217 dead. The number of victims could rise significantly in the coming hours. 5 days after the floods, emergency services have still not been able to access a huge underground car park, located at the Bonaire shopping center, whose flagship brand is Alcampo (Auchan) in the town of Aldaia, west of Valencia .
Several bodies spotted
Friday, the first divers were able to enter and noted the presence of several bodies, indicates the site The Plural. “It’s a cemetery,” witnesses cited by the site confided this weekend. ESdaily.
When the authorities finally alerted the population last Tuesday at the end of the day, several hundred people were in the shopping center which offers shops, restaurants and cinemas. It appears that many people went down to the underground parking lot to retrieve their cars and escape as the water level rose very, very quickly.
CANARD. Please. CANARD. UME still continues pumping work. It has NOT been possible to access the parking lot. #Bonaire #Valencia #DANA https://t.co/1mYZHxHgBE pic.twitter.com/XIpgy7SK44
— Sara Rincón (@sararincon02) https://twitter.com/sararincon02/status/1853027286246662286?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
A man trapped in his car on an underground parking ramp, unable to get out due to the amount of water flooding the place.
All I can do is think about the underground parking lot. #Bonaire.
They are lying to us with the death toll. You don’t have to be very smart to… pic.twitter.com/jOgZqIY0s3
— Indonesia (@IndonesiaMar) https://twitter.com/IndonesiaMar/status/1853308970129383777?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
? Firefighters have begun removing water from the parking lot of the Bonaire shopping center with fear that new victims will appear.
? Follow the news of the day with David Cantero and @MariaCasado_TV > https://t.co/3cLj8wl2Jg pic.twitter.com/FV2oa0zdkN
— Telecinco News (@informativost5) https://twitter.com/informativost5/status/1852803634951831797?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
Up to 3 m of water in basements
In this huge car park with 5,800 spaces, the water rose up to 3 meters high. Water invaded the basements and escalators and the waves carried a lot of debris into the basement.
The Spanish military emergency unit mobilized large pumps to lower the water level to allow emergency services to finally access the underground car park.
