Éric, a Frenchman who lives in Valence, rescued several people who were victims of the floods during the night from Tuesday to Wednesday. But the fifty-year-old also remembers a woman he failed to save.
It is a historic tragedy that hit Spain this week. The country was hit by large-scale floods. According to the latest provisional report, 205 people died in the floods. The authorities are still searching for the missing. On Thursday, the government explained that “dozens and dozens” of people were still wanted.
The hardest hit region was Valencia, where more than 200 people died. Éric, a 59-year-old Breton living in this town for two months, helped several people. On BFMTV, he testifies to this night of horror and notably remembers a woman whom he failed to save.
“We open the cars one after the other”
Weather conditions began to deteriorate on Tuesday evening. Eric then posts a message on social networks to offer possible victims accommodation. The Frenchman receives many responses, including a family he goes to look for. “When I arrive, they are packing things. I realize that their apartment is under water,” he tells BFMTV.
Floods in Spain: the terrible toll – 01/11
“When we got out of their house to start helping, we opened the cars one after the other. We grabbed the doors as best we could to open them and get them out as quickly as possible because they saw that they were being taken away. “, he testifies. In this way, Eric will succeed in saving five or six people stuck in their car.
But the fifty-year-old especially remembers a woman to whom he was unable to help.
“I see in a white car coming towards us the distress of a young woman who was less than 30 years old, who is in panic, trying to open the door to get out as quickly as possible,” continues Éric.
“I see this face looking at me with this distress”
“We try to grab by holding the windshield and pull at the same time. But I realize that the door is electrically off and that it can no longer open,” he notes. “I see this face looking at me with this distress, cries. There is nothing we can do. Out of desperation, I try to break the window with my fist but it was not possible,” he says, moved.
“I see the car move away and 4-5 meters later fall into the place where it was deeper and nosedive. The warnings remained and the car slowly sank into the water,” adds the Frenchman. .
While weather conditions are gradually improving across Spain, the national meteorological agency warns that Catalonia, the Valencian Community and the Balearic archipelago could still be affected by precipitation in the coming days.
