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Video shows horror moment Spain floods wiped out bridge in seconds
Local authorities have not disclosed how many people are still unaccounted for after Europe's deadliest floods in years.
Parts of Spain have been hit hard by floods that have killed at least 95 people, and devastated the infrastructure. Another storm warning has been issued for Valencia even as rescuers scour flooded fields and rubble for survivors.
Local authorities have not disclosed how many people are still unaccounted for after Europe's deadliest floods in years, but Defence Minister Margarita Robles said late on Wednesday the death toll was likely to rise.
One horrific video, that has gone viral on social media, shows flash floods destroying a bridge in Valencia on Tuesday night. The Paiporta bridge was completely engulfed as the river's water level rose, leading to the entire structure collapsing within seconds.
Witnesses at the scene scream in horror as the concrete bridge crumbles and disappeares beneath the rushing water. The situation in Paiporta deteriorated rapidly, with many people losing both their livelihoods and loved ones in the relentless floods. Streets in Valencia transformed into rivers, trapping residents in their homes. Many were forced to climb lampposts, scramble up trees, or seek refuge on the upper floors of buildings to escape the rising waters.
Spain floods: Rescue work on
Rescue workers combed the wreckage of vehicles that were caked in mud next to roads or in flooded fields, with some using heavy machinery to clear debris from the streets, television footage showed.
Meteorologists said a year's worth of rain had fallen in eight hours in parts of Valencia on Tuesday, causing pile-ups on highways and submerging farmland in a region that produces about two-thirds of the citrus fruit grown in Spain, a leading global exporter of oranges.
In the hard-hit rural town of Utiel, some 85 km inland from the city of Valencia, the Magro river burst its banks, sending up to 10 feet of water into homes, most of which are single-storey.
Utiel's mayor, Ricardo Gabaldon, said at least six people had died in the town of about 12,000, most of them elderly or disabled people who were unable to clamber to safety.
