Laurence Dollimore
A FAMILY were dramatically rescued from a bridge underpass in Alicante on Sunday after their car was swept away by a flash flood.
The incident occurred in Altea, where heavy rainfall has seen many streets filled with muddy water.
Much of Alicante, including Benidorm, had been on orange and yellow level alerts for rainfall for the majority of Sunday.
In footage shared online, a car can be seen turning a corner when it is suddenly met by a huge pool of water underneath a bridge.
Locals can be heard screaming at them to stop the car and turn around but the vehicle quickly ends up being picked up and carried away.
The passengers and drivers are forced to abandon the vehicle as it floats down the flood stream.
In another clip, at least two people, one of them visibly vulnerable and being carried by the other, can be seen being pulled out of the water by passersby.
There were widespread reports of flooding along the Costa Blanca on Sunday, following yet another wet weekend across eastern Spain.
Earlier on Sunday, in nearby Valencia, Queen Letizia appeared in shock after being pelted with mud during a visit to a flood disaster zone.
The former journalist, 52, broke down in tears after being confronted by an angry group of locals in Paiporta.
The monarch had been visiting the ‘ground zero’ site with King Felipe VI, as well as Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez.
Dozens of locals were heard shouting ‘murderers!’ and other insults towards the direction of the royals as they attempted to speak to affected residents.
The President of Valencia Carloz Mazon scurried off in a car as a rock was launched at the back window, forcing it to smash.
Sanchez also left at the same time, before Felipe and Letizia spent around attempting to calm the crowds down, before finally leaving.
Footage shared online showed Letizia becoming visibly emotional during the incident.
One local can be heard telling the king: “Today was not the day to come, there are still bodies over there.”
The dramatic scenes came before locals and volunteers were told to seek high ground as yet another red warning was issued for rain.
Footage shared online showed how the alert was spread via megaphones on the streets as volunteers and residents were in the middle of the ongoing clean up.
It comes after hundreds have already died this week due to historic flash floods caused by a DANA storm.
The message played through megaphones tells people to stay indoors and in homes that are above ground level.
It comes after thousands of people decided to travel to Valencia this bank holiday weekend to help with the mammoth clean up operation following one of the biggest disasters in recent memory.
The red alert is in place along the southern coast of Valencia and some inland areas.
According to state weather agency Aemet, up to 90mm of rainfall could fall per square metre.
The red warning, meaning there is an ‘extreme risk’ to life, was activated at 6pm and is in place until 11pm tonight.
Meanwhile the northern coast of Valencia and parts of Castellon are on an orange alert for rainfall over the same period.
