Ministry: No Azerbaijani citizens among victims of Spain's devastating floods

Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Aykhan Hajizada has said there are no Azerbaijani citizens among the victims of floods that devastated Spain on October 29.

He noted that the Azerbaijani embassy in Spain has not received any appeals in this regard, Caliber.Az reports, citing local media.

To recall, flash floods that started on October 29 in Spain swept away cars, turned village streets into rivers, disrupted rail lines and highways and killed at least 95 people in the worst natural disaster to hit the European nation in recent memory.

Rainstorms that continued till October 30 caused flooding in a wide swath of southern and eastern Spain, stretching from Malaga to Valencia. Muddy torrents tumbled vehicles down streets at high speeds, while pieces of wood swirled in the water alongside household items. Police and rescue services used helicopters to lift people from their homes and rubber boats to reach drivers stranded atop cars.

Rescue personnel and more than 1,100 soldiers from Spain’s emergency response units were deployed to affected areas. Spain’s central government set up a crisis committee to coordinate rescue efforts.

Trains to the cities of Madrid and Barcelona were cancelled due to the flooding, and schools and other essential services were suspended in the worst-hit areas.

Spain’s state-owned railway Renfe said a high-speed train with 291 passengers on board travelling from Malaga to Madrid derailed shortly after departure due to a landslide. No injuries have been reported.

By Khagan Isayev