Spain: Horror as boy swept away and killed by floods in holiday hotspot | World | News
Raging floods have claimed the life of a young boy, as they continue to cause devastation in a Spanish holiday hotspot. Torrential rain and strong winds have caused massive disruption to flights and trains, with officials warning that more bad weather is on the way.
Catalonia was battered by lethal floods over the weekend, with much of the northeastern region submerged under water. The child’s body was retrieved by firefighters from a river in the town of Sant Pere de Riudebitlles near Barcelona. Local media reports claim the victim is an 11-year-old boy who was in a car with his dad when they ran into difficulties.
The car was reportedly swept away by the flood causing the pair to be submerged by the water. Núria Parlon – the Catalan Minister of the Interior – confirmed the boy’s death and said rescuers are still looking for the dad.
Emergency services have received over 600 phone calls from distressed members of the public and have dispatched rescue teams to over 200 people so far.
Twenty-seven people were eventually evacuated from a funicular at the Montserrat Monastery northwest of Barcelona, after being trapped by a landslide.
The severe weather has brought massive chaos to air traffic with dozens of flights to Barcelona’s El Prat Airport either delayed or cancelled on Sunday.
Strong winds caused trees to fall onto rail lines, causing more disruption and chaos. 60 passengers were left stranded on a train after it was forced to make an emergency stop, and were eventually rescued by the Catalan Fire Brigade .
Up to 40 litres of rain per square metre fell in just 30 minutes in some parts of Catalonia, according to the national weather office AEMET.
Yellow warnings were activated in areas of Aragon, Asturias, Andalucía, Cantabria, Castilla-La Mancha and Murcia.
The bad weather is set to continue today with more heavy rain expected. Serra de Tramuntana and much of the northeast of the island are expected to hit the worst.
