‘After three days we found him alive’: ‘miracle’ saves after Spanish floods

Her car was one of many swept away by Spain’s deadly floods, which were thrown up by mud-colored water that flowed into the streets. But after 72 hours trapped in the subway, the woman was hailed as one of the lucky ones.

“After three days, we found someone alive in their car,” Martín Pérez, head of public security in Valencia, told volunteers on Saturday. The announcement drew a standing ovation.

Pérez later explained to the local news site Levante that, while the floods were flowing in the area, the woman’s car was among many that were scattered by the strong waves. He ended up on the road below the municipality of Benetússer, trapped in a car that was hidden in a pile of other cars.

Emergency services were working nearby on Friday when they heard calls for “Doctor, doctor”. They ran to where the sound seemed to be coming from, following the voice through the line of cars.

After hours of removing the cars and debris that covered them, rescuers were able to free the woman. He was treated at the scene before being taken to hospital.

Spanish media described his rescue as a “miracle”, a ray of hope amid an increasingly deteriorating outlook. At least 217 people have been killed by Tuesday’s heavy rains, while the number of missing remains unknown.

In recent days, stories of incredible rescues have emerged, rescuing people from the worst floods in Spain’s modern history.

In the town of Albal, a man was able to get out of his car as it was swept onto the pavement. He climbed as high as he could, clinging to the ledge of a nearby building while one leg rested precariously on the car. Below him, the water flows, rising.

He was soon seen by neighbors on the balcony directly above him, they scrambled to gather sheets to throw him down. The man managed to hold on, hanging on tightly as the three people on the balcony lifted him up. The rescue video showed the man being hugged tightly by his rescuers when he reached a safe place.

In the hard-hit municipality of Paiporta, where almost a third of the deaths so far have been reported, the water began to rise as English teacher Daniel Burguet had three children at his school. waiting to be picked up by their parents. His daughter is waiting for him.

“In just a few minutes, the water was half a meter high,” he told TVE. They hurried to take the children, who are about five to 11 years old, to the classroom tables.

A great sound was heard; the terrible flood was breaking the glass wall of the school. Burguet knew they had to get out. When he got out of the waist-deep water, he broke the leg of the floating table, using it to hit the glass door next to the classroom.

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after the news release

As he slowly breaks through the glass, water rushes around him, cars and garbage cans float away. “It was a nightmare,” he said.

The video captured the moment Burguet was able to open the door. In order to fight the strong currents, he went back and forth several times between the open door and the classroom, escorting the children and two other teachers to safety. “Yes, baby,” shouts a woman in the video as she hands over a small child.

Behind him, “the water continued to rise, almost reaching the roof of the school,” he said.

He deleted the comments of many online people who had hailed him as a hero. He said: “The only thing I was thinking about was my survival and saving the people inside.” If I didn’t have the choice to break through that glass, I wouldn’t be here to tell this story.