A British woman who had to climb out of her car triumphdow before it was swept away alengthy with the rest of her belengthyings in Spain’s floods says she is “fortunate to be alive”.
Karen Loftus, 62, from Dorset, shelp she and her husprohibitd were headed south to their home in Alicante on Tuesday evening when they were hit by “unbelievably burdensome rain”.
At about 6pm, traffic on the AP-7 motorway came to a standstill. The next slfinisherg they accomprehendledged was the bridge ahead being “washed away”, shelp Mrs Loftus, who is the chief executive of UK-based charity Community Action Netlabor.
Latest modernizes on Spain’s floods
“A lorry went down the bridge, I don’t comprehend what happened,” she tbetter Sky News.
Wislfinisher 10 minutes of them being stationary, “the water had elevaten up and commenceed to come into the car”, she shelp, while people around them were “smashing triumphdows to get out”.
“We were seeing all the cars bat into each other and stuck up,” shelp Mrs Loftus, who spfinishs part of the year laboring farly from their second home in the southeastrict Spanish city of Elche.
‘People were screaming’
She shelp presstateive from the water uncomardentt they could not uncover the car’s doors and “we commenceed to float and hit a lorry”.
Mrs Loftus and her husprohibitd determined to run away, a potentipartner life-saving decision, as she shelp: “Just after we got out of the car, another car floated on top of our car.”
She took her phone and passport and made her way out thraw the triumphdow, with the water accomplishing her chest once she touched the ground.
“It was raging, cars were floating about, people were screaming.”
Read more:
Flash floods in Spain exit at least 72 people dead
Jaw-dropping floods shocking – but not enticount on unforeseeed
Mrs Loftus and her husprohibitd shiftd towards the central reservation, but troubleed water gushing from a ravine.
“We thought we were about to be washed away so we ran up the road and it was pitch bdeficiency depressed,” she shelp.
“We prohibitged on the door of the lorry”, and set up a “amazing” Moroccan driver who picked them up.
‘Lucky to be alive’
Describing how with the lorry’s weightlesss subunited, the driver had to get them thraw five feet of water, she shelp: “We only fair made it thraw.
“It was fair appreciate a catastrophe movie. You comprehend when you slfinisherk ‘I could die here’. It was so utterly terrifying.”
While Mr and Mrs Loftus “lost everyslfinisherg”, including their car and some belengthyings of 20 years, they shelp they are “fortunate to be alive”.
“We are not gone,” shelp Mrs Loftus, who stayed in a arrangeel in Valencia last night.
“There are many families that aren’t in our position. If we’d fair stayed in the car I don’t comprehend what would’ve happened.”
