Bodies of missing Spanish boys found two weeks after flash floods

A new storm warning has put the Valencia region on a fresh alert since Tuesday night

By Reuters

Published: Wed 13 Nov 2024, 3:51 PM

The bodies of two young brothers who went missing in floods that struck Spain's eastern Valencia region two weeks ago have been found, the Civil Guard confirmed on Wednesday.

Ruben and Izan Matias Calatayud, aged 3 and 5, were found in separate locations near Catarroja, almost 10 km downstream from their home in Torrent, a suburb of Valencia city, where they went missing when the floods hit on October 29, a Civil Guard spokesperson said.

Their aunt Barbara Sastre told Spain's state TVE last week that the boys' mother was working in Valencia and their father was with them at the family home when the flood hit at 6:30 p.m.

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The sound of the water running through the streets had frightened the children and their father moved them to the living room to calm them down when the water burst through the wall, she said.

"The three of them were dragged out," she told TVE.

Their father — whose name has not been confirmed — tried to cling on to them but they were swept away by the tide of water, state news agency EFE reported.

He survived by grabbing hold of a tree, TVE added, and remained there for four hours before being rescued, having suffered serious injuries.

Sastre told TVE that the wait for news had left the family "destroyed".

"It's been many days and they are very small," she said. "We know that they are looking for them and there are search parties every day."

Rescue teams searching for people missing from the storm have intensified their efforts in nearby ravines and the Albufera wetlands as well as at sea using specialist search boats.

As of Tuesday, authorities confirmed a total of 223 people dead so far in the October 29 floods, while 17 remained missing.

A new storm warning has put the Valencia region on a fresh alert since Tuesday night, along with other areas along the Spanish coast, including the southern city of Malaga.

Emergency services have moved some people from homes at high risk of flooding, asked citizens to move to higher ground, while classes have been suspended in Malaga, Valencia and some municipalities of Catalonia.