Laurence Dollimore
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A BRITISH couple are believed to be among the hundreds still missing from Spain’s flood disaster zone.
They have been named only as Brigitte and Jose, and are said to be ‘British and in their 60s’.
The appeal was made on the interactive map of the missing that allows loved ones to place pins of their lost relatives’ last locations, alongside a message – which can be responded to.
Others have left phone numbers and emails so that people can contact them if they find their missing family members.
The post about the Brits reads: “We are looking for Brigitte and Jose. A couple in their 60s, both British.
“The woman is very blonde, and the man is dark-skinned.
“The man speaks perfect Spanish, but the woman not so much. We have not been able to contact them for over two days.”
It said the couple disappeared from Calle Fermin Vilar in Alfafar (pictured top left and right), one of the worst hit zones in Valencia.
In the same zone, a mother-of-two reported on X how a body had floated into her home where she was with her two children and an elderly couple.
The interactive map has laid bare the emotional trauma of the disaster that has claimed more than 200 lives.
‘Two children missing aged three and five’… ‘grandparents of Jose’… ‘Analia and her two kids.’
These are just some of the dozens of messages that have been pinned to the map alongside phone numbers, photos and email addresses.
The map was the idea of Spaniard Alexandru Molina (@alexandrumolina on ‘X’).
He explained: “I have created a map with an open link so that everyone can edit, adding points and descriptions of the people trapped: enter, add data and delete when they are resolved.”
He added: “Use the colours I have arranged, which help classify the type of emergency by severity, whether it is due to the condition of the people, their age or the level of water around them. The key is in the description. Thank you, good luck!”
It comes as it was revealed on Friday evening how 1,900 people are still missing.
The jaw-dropping figure has been confirmed by the Integrated Operational Coordination Centre (Cecopi), which is managing the missing persons database in relation to the disaster.
It comes after they have been inundated with calls from worried loved ones and relatives of those still missing.
It is hoped that the worrying figure will be steadily reduced over the coming hours as more and more people are located.
On Thursday, for example, some 600 people who were missing were found.
However, according to El Diario, around 70 bodies were located today that have yet to be collected.
There are also fears that more corpses will be discovered inside vehicles that have become stuck on roads not yet searched by rescue teams.
Meanwhile, the Ministry of Health have warned that some hospitals are ‘on the verge of collapse’.
The most at risk is La Fe Hospital in Valencia.
The 112 emergency hotline has received more than 75,000 calls since disaster struck on Tuesday.
According to the Guardia Civil, 124 autopsies have been carried out and just 17 bodies have been identified.
There are still 138 bodies waiting to be ID’d at the Institute of Legal Medicine.
A crack team of forensic experts and psychologists have been called in to speed up the processes and to provide support for grieving families.
