As rescuers painstakingly seek victims of Spain’s deadliest floods in decades in inland towns and fields, they have also started search operations for the dozens still missing along the coast.
The torrential downpours on 29 October — which in some places dumped a year’s worth of rain in just hours — have swept detritus towards estuaries and beaches.
Three bodies have been found on the usually idyllic beaches facing the Mediterranean Sea, according to Spanish media.
The authorities – heavily criticised for their handling of the catastrophe and confusing information on the number of dead and missing – have neither confirmed nor denied the reports.
According to reports, a team has been searching the Albufera lagoon in the eastern Valencia region that has suffered almost all the devastation and 219 deaths.
The lagoon lies at the heart of a natural park where thousands of migratory birds shelter in the winter and restaurants serve paella to nature lovers who can explore its pristine waters by boat.
Spain has also dispatched more boats to the coast and increased its diving teams sixfold, Javier Marcos, head of the Spanish army’s emergencies unit, told reporters on Friday.
Divers from the regional fire service and the Guardia Civil were also taking part in the disaster zone.
Firefighters struggled to remove reeds that had jammed open a lock, allowing the lagoon’s contents to drift into the Mediterranean.
The regional emergency committee overseeing the rescue said on Thursday that radars and special equipment were being used to chart the waters.
To the east of Albufera lies the isolated El Saler beach, another popular beauty spot now buried under piles of reeds scattered by the raging tides.
Local council workers hoisted a red flag to dissuade potential bathers from the beach, which like others in the region has been sealed off.
But the lagoon often swells to match the rising water levels during storms and bears few physical scars compared with the scenes of desolation surrounding it.
#BúsquedaDeDesaparecidos | Nuestros efectivos del Servicio Aéreo y del Grupo Especial de Actividades Subacuáticas continúan peinando la zona de la #Albufera para la búsqueda de desaparecidos.#DANA #DanaValencia #SAER #GEAS pic.twitter.com/J42uKGPm1G
— Guardia Civil (@guardiacivil) November 8, 2024
El equipo de buceo de la @UMEgob #EBUME colabora con el Grupo de Actividades Subacuáticas #GEAS de la @guardiacivil en la #Albufera, trabajando en la búsqueda de desaparecidos tras la #DANA.
Unidos en el esfuerzo y comprometidos con la misión, porque cada vida cuenta. pic.twitter.com/mA3MKNOmsi— Ministerio Defensa (@Defensagob) November 7, 2024
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