Human tragedies are beginning to emerge as the floodwaters recede in Valencia, revealing the identities of the 95 confirmed dead from the severe weather event known as DANA.
One such tragedy is that of Antonio Tarajona and Lourdes Maria Garcia, who became trapped in the Payporta area with their three-month-old daughter, Angelina.
At one point, Antonio, Lourdes, and little Angelina climbed onto the roof of their car.
However, the waters were swift and strong, resulting in Antonio being swept away, leaving Lourdes and Angelina behind.
According to a friend of the 34-year-old Lourdes, she received a call from her at 8:50 PM on Wednesday: “She told me she would try to hold on for as long as possible and begged me to take care of her other two children.”
Lourdes’s friend walked the six kilometers to her home to pick up her 10-year-old daughter and 13-year-old son. A few hours later, the tragic news came. A friend of Lourdes announced that both she and her baby had been found dead.
In contrast, Antonio, who was located and rescued, was taken to a sports center in Valencia that is being used as a reception center for those affected by the floods.
According to a family friend, Antonio described how, when the waters swept him away, he managed to grab onto a piece of metal, which is where the rescuers found him.
Lourdes, originally from Venezuela, had been living in Valencia for the past five years.
