The Fort Worth Press - Spain's grim search for flood missing moves to coast

USD -
AED 3.673005
AFN 68.386442
ALL 93.021933
AMD 389.349314
ANG 1.803734
AOA 913.000031
ARS 1002.721397
AUD 1.53358
AWG 1.8
AZN 1.702057
BAM 1.854577
BBD 2.020785
BDT 119.602116
BGN 1.858799
BHD 0.376916
BIF 2956.030306
BMD 1
BND 1.344124
BOB 6.930721
BRL 5.790848
BSD 1.000863
BTN 84.433613
BWP 13.672612
BYN 3.275301
BYR 19600
BZD 2.017372
CAD 1.39639
CDF 2864.999911
CHF 0.88374
CLF 0.035265
CLP 973.069559
CNY 7.241401
CNH 7.24719
COP 4396.59
CRC 508.251983
CUC 1
CUP 26.5
CVE 104.558213
CZK 24.0877
DJF 178.22092
DKK 7.087555
DOP 60.364405
DZD 133.750861
EGP 49.678296
ERN 15
ETB 124.782215
EUR 0.950275
FJD 2.269701
FKP 0.789317
GBP 0.791103
GEL 2.740301
GGP 0.789317
GHS 15.887842
GIP 0.789317
GMD 71.000247
GNF 8627.008472
GTQ 7.726299
GYD 209.391416
HKD 7.782965
HNL 25.291226
HRK 7.133259
HTG 131.472895
HUF 390.756993
IDR 15903.25
ILS 3.732285
IMP 0.789317
INR 84.493503
IQD 1311.043259
IRR 42092.505939
ISK 138.290123
JEP 0.789317
JMD 158.639851
JOD 0.709302
JPY 154.656495
KES 129.249619
KGS 86.506766
KHR 4038.536303
KMF 467.499881
KPW 899.999621
KRW 1398.125025
KWD 0.30759
KYD 0.834076
KZT 497.17423
LAK 21976.521459
LBP 89633.50686
LKR 291.187013
LRD 181.150969
LSL 18.152914
LTL 2.95274
LVL 0.60489
LYD 4.883414
MAD 9.998293
MDL 18.214834
MGA 4685.233124
MKD 58.48862
MMK 3247.960992
MNT 3397.999946
MOP 8.024142
MRU 39.785889
MUR 46.412517
MVR 15.460006
MWK 1735.461174
MXN 20.325297
MYR 4.464971
MZN 63.950307
NAD 18.152914
NGN 1680.590024
NIO 36.829479
NOK 11.03348
NPR 135.09167
NZD 1.703345
OMR 0.385001
PAB 1.000778
PEN 3.7981
PGK 4.029035
PHP 59.039501
PKR 278.226704
PLN 4.126669
PYG 7838.117183
QAR 3.649699
RON 4.729799
RSD 111.205995
RUB 101.000437
RWF 1380.157217
SAR 3.754257
SBD 8.355531
SCR 13.619994
SDG 601.497088
SEK 11.030315
SGD 1.343699
SHP 0.789317
SLE 22.575045
SLL 20969.504736
SOS 571.975839
SRD 35.43028
STD 20697.981008
SVC 8.757041
SYP 2512.529858
SZL 18.142596
THB 34.647019
TJS 10.658746
TMT 3.5
TND 3.159078
TOP 2.342102
TRY 34.465475
TTD 6.776157
TWD 32.567494
TZS 2652.359028
UAH 41.269214
UGX 3693.413492
UYU 42.784805
UZS 12854.406494
VES 46.433371
VND 25422.5
VUV 118.722009
WST 2.791591
XAF 622.001915
XAG 0.032192
XAU 0.000375
XCD 2.70255
XDR 0.761528
XOF 622.001915
XPF 113.087675
YER 249.924998
ZAR 18.116198
ZMK 9001.198706
ZMW 27.697968
ZWL 321.999592
  • SCS

    -0.0200

    13.07

    -0.15%

  • NGG

    -0.3100

    63.27

    -0.49%

  • AZN

    -0.6000

    63.2

    -0.95%

  • BTI

    0.1500

    37.08

    +0.4%

  • CMSC

    -0.0450

    24.52

    -0.18%

  • BCE

    -0.3100

    27

    -1.15%

  • RBGPF

    59.6900

    59.69

    +100%

  • RIO

    -0.0400

    62.39

    -0.06%

  • BP

    -0.0100

    29.08

    -0.03%

  • BCC

    -0.7700

    137.41

    -0.56%

  • GSK

    -0.1100

    33.35

    -0.33%

  • RYCEF

    -0.0800

    6.61

    -1.21%

  • CMSD

    -0.0836

    24.26

    -0.34%

  • JRI

    -0.0300

    13.23

    -0.23%

  • RELX

    -0.1800

    45.11

    -0.4%

  • VOD

    0.0200

    8.94

    +0.22%

Spain's grim search for flood missing moves to coast
Spain's grim search for flood missing moves to coast / Photo: © AFP

Spain's grim search for flood missing moves to coast

Spanish navy diver Alvaro Carrillo donned his wetsuit and prepared a speedboat to scour a normally picturesque lagoon made murky by a sea of debris -- and potentially bodies.

Text size:

As rescuers painstakingly seek victims of Spain's deadliest floods in decades in inland towns and fields, Carrillo's team is shifting the hunt for the dozens of missing to the coast.

The torrential downpours on October 29 -- which in some places dumped a year's worth of rain in 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.

But an emergency unit involved in the rescue told AFP on condition of anonymity that at least one body has been discovered in the sea.

Carrillo and his 20-strong team set out at the crack of dawn on 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.

But its 2,700 hectares (6,670 acres) of shallow fresh water were almost opaque when AFP visited after the floods dragged in cars, furniture and mounds of reeds.

The poor visibility is the "trickiest" part of the team's work, but they would keep going "as long as the daylight allows", sub-lieutenant Carrillo, 26, told AFP.

- Sea of reeds -

Spain has dispatched more boats to the coast and increased its diving teams sixfold, Javier Marcos, head of the army's emergencies unit, told reporters on Friday.

Divers from the regional fire service and the Civil Guard were also taking part in the disaster zone, AFP journalists saw.

Firefighters struggled to remove reeds that had jammed open a lock, allowing the lagoon's contents to drift into the Mediterranean.

"It's sad, but it makes complete sense that they're looking here," said Jose Torrent, a pensioner from Valencia who often strolls around the lagoon.

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.

"The only visible damage is in the fishermen's nets," said Gregorio Ortega, 66, pointing towards some stakes to which clung nets used to capture eels.

B.Martinez--TFWP