Death Toll In Record-Breaking Spanish Floods Rises To Six

More than 1,100 military personnel have been deployed to the regions of Murcia and Valencia
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Record rainfall in south-eastern Spain has claimed two more lives, taking the death toll to six from the storms that have flooded roads and towns.

More than 1,100 military personnel have been deployed to the regions of Murcia and Valencia to help rescue people isolated by the deluge and evacuate thousands to safety after a river burst its banks and cascades of water submerged highways.

A man pushes his bike on a flooded street on September 14, 2019 in Dolores.
A man pushes his bike on a flooded street on September 14, 2019 in Dolores.
RAMON via Getty Images

A fifth victim was found late on Friday night by police in the village of Redovan. News agency Europa Press reported that police said the 58-year-old man was swept away by rushing waters when he got out of his vehicle.

A sixth victim was confirmed by authorities on Saturday — a 41-year-old man in the town of Orihuela, where the river Segura overflowed its banks on Friday.

Three men were found dead on Friday, including one who tried to drive through a flooded tunnel, and two siblings perished on Thursday when their car was carried away by water, Reuters reports.

New cars are seen piled after a flood caused by torrential rains in Orihuela, Spain, September 14.
New cars are seen piled after a flood caused by torrential rains in Orihuela, Spain, September 14.
Jon Nazca / Reuters

Rescue workers saved thousands of people from rising waters on Friday as the record rainfall pounded the south-east of the country, closing airports, trains, roads and schools.

Acting Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez flew over the devastated areas on Saturday, the Press Association reports.

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