Floods in Spain: concern around an underground car park near Valencia, still inaccessible

There is total uncertainty about the parking lot located under a shopping center in Aldaia, near Valencia. While this entire region of Spain has been seriously affected by floods which have left at least 217 dead, emergency services continue to struggle to access an area that is still inaccessible: the basement of the Bonaire shopping center, covering more than 60,000 m². and 5700 places. Authorities are concerned about the possible presence of victims inside.

Caution in the face of “speculation”

What we know from staff testimony (new window) to the Spanish media ABC, is that the approximately 2,000 employees of the shopping center were sheltered when the waters rose and are safe and sound. The fate of customers who may have been stuck in the underground zone is more unclear.

A Primark store employee tells El Diario (new window) to be mounted “on the restaurant and cinema floor, the highest” and stayed there “with 300 or 400 other people”. But according to him, some customers could have gone to pick up their cars. Other versions suggest that the majority of cars were parked outside, and not in the underground part of the parking lot.

“It’s an uncertainty, we could have very bad news”told the mayor of Aldaia to the newspaper The Ceuta Lighthouse (new window)while refusing to provide estimates on a hypothetical number of victims.

Feeling the psychosis gaining ground, the Minister of Transport called for caution in the face of “mere speculation” and rumors that “are not true”. “We still don't know what we'll find in these places, so those who claim to have numbers are just speculating.” Oscar Puente told the press (new window).

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Regardless, rescuers from the military emergency unit (UME) have been working hard for three days to clear access to the parking lot and managed to lower the water level to 1.5 meter. Until enough mud and water have been pumped out of the building, the EMU will not be able to enter and assess the severity of the situation. However, two zodiacs are ready to explore the area, a drone and a helicopter were seen this Sunday morning monitoring the area.