Alex Trelinski
KING Felipe and Queen Letizia joined hundreds of mourners in a memorial service for the victims of the flood disaster that killed 222 people in Valencia province.
Monday’s mass was conducted at Valencia Cathedral and the congregation included 400 relatives of some of those who died in the tragedy.
Also in attendance were national government ministers, mayors of towns that were hit, and Valencia president Carlos Mazon, who has been strongly criticised for his handling of the disaster.
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Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, who was the target of residents’ anger when he visited Paiporta on November 3, was not present.
The Archbishop of Valencia Enrique Benavent in an address paid tribute to voluntary workers and people who ‘in the most tragic moments risked their lives to save others’.
“We want to join the pain that the families are experiencing for the death of their loved ones or for the uncertainty that you are experiencing in the case of the missing who have not been located,” he added.
“When I visited the affected towns, I perceived the sadness of the looks, the pain and suffering of many people. We cannot remain indifferent to this,” said Benavent.
After listening to the hymn of the coronation of the Virgen de los Desamparados, the King and Queen offered words of condolences to the victims’ families.
They went to the benches occupied by relatives and shook hands and hugged many of them while listening to and comforting them for almost half-an-hour.
There were however some boos and even shouts of ‘murderers!’ in front of the cathedral as they left.
Outside the cathedral, Juan Jose Monrabal, from Catarroja, who lost his mother, said the service should not have been held as one had already taken place at the funeral home.
“We only hear lies from politicians, they don’t help us at all,” he fumed.
“Catarroja and Massanassa are areas that are being treated like dogs and we are going to catch infections due to all the mud we have had for over a month, “ he added.
Sonia Fuster said she lost her father in the disaster and had gone to Valencia Cathedral for him.
She commented that politicians ‘have not respected’ her pain and she did not want to share space with them, ‘with those murderers that have not done their job’.
