Spain floods: Epicentre now a bizarre medley of debris – as video shows miraculous rescue
To walk through the streets of Paiporta is to see nature at its most vicious.
Everywhere, there is chaos in this town. Lives have been ripped apart, turned upside down and ended.
Spain floods latest: Looting breaks out as flood deaths surpass 150
You can’t drive into Paiporta, a suburb about 4 miles to the southwest of Valencia, so we cover the final mile by foot. For most of the walk, we pass past fruit groves. The sun is getting warmer.
It could be a normal day. Except then you arrive in the town, and normality has gone.
We turn a corner and find a road that has been wholly blocked by a wall of cars, thrown together.
To the side, a family is wading through their garage, which is under three feet of water.
All around is a bizarre medley of debris. Most of it is coated in thick, sticky mud that clings to everything – the road, your clothes and all these chunks of everyday life that have been swept away and mixed together.
So there is a child’s shoe, a beer chiller, a jumper, a corkscrew and a lump of an engine block. All of them muddled, muddy and sad.
“We have to clean,” says the woman, staring at the endless water in her garage. Her son is wading in, pulling out possessions.
There were three motorbikes in here, two of them new. All of them are ruined. Everything in sight is ruined. But they know they are lucky.
Down the road, on the other side of the wall of cars, they knew a couple who were in their car when the flood water came, with shocking speed.
They both died – two of forty people who are known to have died in this town so far.
The damage is utterly random. A car lies, absurdly, on top of a children’s slide. Paving stones lie in a pile while front doors flap open, offering a view of homes that have been engulfed by water and mud.
Outside, there are people trying to push the water away, using brooms and shovels.
Down the road, we visit Catarroja, normally a pretty town that welcomes plenty of tourists.
Now the main high street is covered in pebbles and as we drive in, we have to gingerly avoid holes in the road, industrial dustbins that have rolled into the street, and a long line of crumpled vehicles.
Everywhere we go, in fact, it is the cars that are the symbol of these floods – tossed around carelessly, thrown into gardens, into a playground, into rivers and streams, on top of each other and into houses.
They are smashed, upturned, filthy, and broken, and the cars have, in turn, broken so much else. When the water rushed through these towns, it picked them up and used them as weapons.
A woman walks past, pleading with me to tell the world that they have no water and no food. Everything has been cut off and the shops are shut.
Half an hour later, I see her and a friend walking along the street with a shopping trolley loaded with food, arguing with other people. They have, quite clearly, helped themselves to what they needed.
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Read more:
Spain’s floods hit ‘like a tsunami’
How trapped British woman escaped chest-high floods
What caused the floods in Spain?
Across the road, half-wedged in a tree, is a boat. We are a decent way from the sea, and nobody seems to know whose boat it is, or where it came from.
But there it is, a symbol of how this flood created such instant discordant chaos.
We meet Veronica, walking along with her two children. She is taking them to a grandparent, whose house is out of town.
She tells me that they had precious little warning before the flood hit – merely a request earlier in the day to take children home from school because there was a storm on the way.
Veronica, who is taking her children out of town
“One minute there was just rain and then there was two metres of water,” she says.
“It was very scary. People have been hurt and some people have died. Now we have to help each other to repair this town.”
She looks around. “It will take a long time.”
There are happier stories, tales of survival and courage. Three young girls come to talk to us in the street, showing us a video of their father rescuing a man from the water at the very moment their road had turned into a churning river (VIDEO AT TOP).
The man, a local called Luis, is being swept along, desperate to survive.
Their father, leaning out of the window of the family’s apartment, has thrown down a rope and is clinging on.
As we watch, you can hear the screams of the man and the encouraging shouts of the onlookers.
Slowly, slowly, he is pulled out of the water and clambers over a balcony to safety.
The girls burst with pride; their father, clearly, saved this man’s life. In the midst of this horror, there are shards of valour and joy.
World
‘Atrocious’ killing of 15 aid workers by Israel must be independently investigated, Palestine Red Crescent says
The Palestine Red Crescent Society (PRCS) has demanded an independent investigation into the “atrocious” deaths of 15 aid workers killed by Israeli troops in Gaza in March.
The group’s president, Dr Younis al Khatib, said he had asked the UN Security Council to form an investigation committee into the “intentional killing of the medics”.
In response to Sky’s Alistair Bunkall, spokesman David Mencer claimed the killings were the result of Hamas hiding among civilians and using them as human shields.
But speaking in Ramallah, Dr al Khatib said those responsible must be held “accountable for these crimes” via international humanitarian law and the Geneva Convention.
“It’s not enough to comfort us with condolences and nice words of investigation and accountability. There has to be action taken,” he added.
He urged an “independent and thorough investigation of this atrocious crime” and that “no one should be above the law”.
“So many questions being asked of the Israelis,” he said.
“Why were they killed? Why did you destroy the ambulances after killing them? Why did you try to dig deep and hide the ambulances? They have to answer for that.”
The Israel Defence Forces (IDF) said on Monday that a preliminary inquiry into the shooting “indicated the troops opened fire due to a perceived threat following a previous encounter in the area”.
The IDF added that “six of the individuals killed in the incident were identified as Hamas terrorists”.
It comes after footage at the weekend showed the moment the aid workers were killed, with ambulances and fire insignia clearly visible and red lights flashing.
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Phone footage contradicts Israeli claims of killing of Gaza medics
The paramedic filming, later found with a bullet in his head, is heard saying there are Israelis present and reciting a declaration of faith often used before someone dies.
He adds: “Forgive me, mother, this is the path I chose mother, to help people, forgive me, mother, I swear I chose this path only to help people.”
The Israeli military originally claimed the vehicles – which were travelling north of Rafah on 23 March – didn’t have headlights or emergency signals on and were targeted as they looked “suspicious”.
An IDF investigation is ongoing, but an Israeli government spokesman claimed on Monday that “six Hamas terrorists” were among those killed.
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‘Demands’ for medic death investigation
Mr Mencer said: “IDF soldiers opened fire at a distance at vehicles moving suspiciously in their direction.
“Among the dead were six Hamas terrorists – what were Hamas terrorists doing in ambulances? The incident was reported in real time to UN officials.”
He claimed there were “many documented occasions” when Hamas had used ambulances as cover.
An evacuation order was also in place at the time, which meant moving vehicles were prohibited, according to Israel.
The head of the UN’s humanitarian affairs office, Jonathan Whittall, said the 15 people were found in a “mass grave” in the sand.
He said those killed comprised eight members of the PRCS, six civil defence members and one UN employee.
Dylan Winder, from the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC), said it was “outraged at the deaths” and that “even in the most complex conflict zones, there are rules”.
“They were humanitarians. They wore emblems that should have been protected. Their ambulances were clearly marked, and they should have returned to their families. They did not,” he said.
World
His only ‘crime’ is being Venezuelan and having tattoos, says brother of man ‘thrown to the lions’ in El Salvador jail
Until five weeks ago, Arturo Suarez was a professional singer, performing in the United States as he waited for his asylum claim to be processed.
Originally from Venezuela, he had entered the US through proper, legal channels.
But he is now imprisoned in a notorious jail in El Salvador, sent there by the Trump administration, despite seemingly never having faced trial or committed any crime. The White House claims he is a gang member but has not provided evidence to support this allegation.
His brother, Nelson Suarez, told Sky News he believes his brother’s only “crime” is being Venezuelan and having tattoos.
Arturo Suarez, in a music video, is now in a notorious prison in El Salvador
“He is not a gang member,” Nelson says, adamantly, “I’ve come to the conclusion that it has to be because of the tattoos. If you don’t have a criminal record, you haven’t committed any crime in the United States, what other reason could there be? Because you’re Venezuelan?”
Arturo, 34, was recording a music video inside a house in March when he was arrested by immigration agents.
He was first taken to a deportation centre in El Paso, Texas, and then, it appears, put on to a military flight to El Salvador.
Nelson Suarez insists his brother Arturo is not a gang member
His family have not heard from him since. Lawyers and immigrant rights groups have been unable to make contact with any of the more than 200 Venezuelan men sent to the CECOT prison, which holds members of the MS-13 and Tren de Aragua gangs.
Tattoo clue to Arturo Suarez’s whereabouts
Nelson learned his brother is – most likely – in CECOT only because of a photograph he spotted on a news website of a group of inmates, with their hands and feet cuffed, heads shaved and bodies shackled together.
A group of inmates are processed to be imprisoned in the CECOT jail in EL Salvador. Pic: Reuters
Nelson Suarez believes this is his brother Arturo Suarez due to his distinctive hummingbird tattoo. Pic: Reuters
“You can see the hummingbird tattoo on his neck,” Nelson says, pointing to the picture. He says Arturo wanted a hummingbird in memory of their late mother. Arturo has 33 tattoos in total, including a piano, poems and verses from the Bible.
It could be that one, or more, of those tattoos landed him at the centre of President Trump’s anti-immigration showpiece. Nelson shows me documents which indicate that Arturo did not have a criminal record in Venezuela, Chile, Colombia or the United States, the four countries he has lived in.
Sky News contacted the White House, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) for a response to Arturo’s case but have not heard back.
In March, Donald Trump signed the Alien Enemies Act, a law from 1798 which has been invoked just three times before, in wartime.
It allows the president to detain and deport immigrants living legally in the US if they are from countries deemed “enemies” of the government. In this instance, Mr Trump claimed the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua had “infiltrated the United States” and was “conducting irregular warfare”.
Alleged gang members imprisoned in the CECOT jail in El Salvador. Pic: Reuters
Gang symbol tattoos
Immigration officials have centred on certain tattoos being gang symbols. Immigration officers were provided with a document called the “Alien Enemy Validation Guide”, according to a court filing from the American Civil Liberties Union. The document provides a point-based system to determine if an immigrant in custody “may be validated” as a gang member.
Migrants who score six points and higher may be designated as members of the Tren de Aragua gang, according to the document. Tattoos which fall under a “symbolism” category score four points and social media posts “displaying” gang symbols are two points. Tattoos considered suspicious, according to the document, include crowns, stars and the Michael Jordan Jumpman logo.
Jerce Reyes Barrios’s story
Another of the men sent to CECOT prison is 36-year-old Jerce Reyes Barrios, who fled Venezuela last year after marching in anti-government protests. He is a former footballer and football coach.
His lawyer, Linette Tobin, told Sky News that Reyes Barrios entered the US legally after waiting in Mexico for four months for an immigration appointment and then presenting himself at the border.
Jerce Reyes Barrios
She says he was detained in a maximum security prison in the US while awaiting his asylum appointment. But before that appointment happened, he was flown to the El Salvador prison.
Ms Tobin says the DHS deported Reyes Barrios because they designated him a Tren De Aragua gang member based on two pieces of evidence.
The first, she says, is a tattoo of the Real Madrid football team logo surrounded by rosary beads. She has since obtained a declaration from the tattoo artist stating that Reyes Barrios just wanted an image which depicted his favourite team.
Jerce Reyes Barrios’s lawyer says he has a tattoo of the Real Madrid logo surrounded by rosary beads
The second piece of evidence, she says, is a photograph, which she shows me, of Reyes Barrios in a hot tub with friends when he was a college student 13 years ago.
He is making a gesture which could be interpreted as “rock and roll”, but which she says has been interpreted as a gang symbol.
Lawyer Linette Tobin says this gesture has been interpreted as a gang symbol
Distraught family in despair
Reyes Barrios has no criminal record in his home country. “I’ve never known anything like this,” Ms Tobin says.
“My client was deported to a third country and we have no way of getting in touch with him. His family are distraught and in despair, they cry a lot, not knowing what is going on with him. We want him returned to the United States to have a hearing and due process.”
Ms Tobin says she and other lawyers representing men sent to the El Salvador prison are trying to establish a UN working group on enforced disappearances to do a wellness check on them because the prison is completely “incommunicado”.
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17 March: US migrants deported to El Salvador
Sky News contacted the DHS for comment about Reyes Barrios’s case but did not receive a response. The DHS previously issued a statement declaring that “DHS intelligence assessments go well beyond just gang-affiliated tattoos. This man’s own social media indicates he is a member of Tren de Aragua”.
Reyes Barrios has an immigration hearing scheduled for 17 April, Ms Tobin says, which the Trump administration is trying to dismiss on the grounds that he is not in the US anymore.
In the meantime, children he used to coach football for in his hometown of Machiques in Venezuela have been holding a prayer vigil for him and calling for his release.
The secretary of the DHS, Kristi Noem, visited CECOT last month and posed for photos standing in front of inmates behind bars.
Department of Homeland Security secretary Kristi Noem visited CECOT in March. Pic: Reuters
“Do not come to our country illegally,” she said, “you will be removed, and you will be prosecuted.” Donald Trump had promised during his election campaign to clamp down on immigration, railing against undocumented immigrants and claiming immigrants are “poisoning the blood of our country”.
I ask Arturo Suarez’s brother, Nelson, how he felt watching Ms Noem posing in the prison, knowing that his brother might be close by.
“I feel bad,” he says, “I feel horrible, because in those images we only see criminals. With my brother, I feel it is more a political issue. They needed numbers, they said, these are the numbers, and now, let’s throw them to the lions.”
Kilmar Abrego Garcia. Pic: AP
Kilmar Abrego Garcia’s story
The Trump administration has admitted that at least one man sent to the El Salvador jail was sent by “administrative error”. Kilmar Abrego Garcia, who was living in Maryland, was sent to CECOT despite a judge’s earlier ruling in 2019 that granted him legal protection to stay in the US.
The White House has alleged Garcia is an MS-13 gang member, but his lawyers argued there is no evidence to prove this.
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A federal judge has ordered Garcia must be returned to the US by Monday 7 April. In a post on X, White House deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller referred to the judge as a “Marxist”, who “now thinks she’s president of El Salvador”.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said: “We suggest the judge contact President Bukele because we are unaware of the judge having jurisdiction or authority over the country of El Salvador.”
World
Israeli airstrikes kill more than 30 people in Gaza – including more than a dozen women and children
Israeli airstrikes have killed more than 30 people in Gaza, including over a dozen women and children, local health officials have said.
Strikes overnight into Sunday hit a tent and a house in Khan Younis, killing five men, five women and five children, according to Nasser Hospital, which received the bodies.
Later on Sunday, at least two people were killed, and six others injured when an Israeli airstrike hit a tent in Khan Younis located outside the Nasser hospital, which was being used as a base by a number of journalists.
A number of them were among the injured, according to hospital officials.
Footage showed a journalist being engulfed by flames after his tent was hit by an airstrike. He is reported to be in a critical condition.
On Sunday, at least two people were killed, and six others injured when an Israeli airstrike hit a tent in Khan Younis which was being used as a base by a number of journalists. Pic: AP
Pic: AP
Pic: AP
Israeli shelling killed at least four people in the Jabaliya refugee camp, according to Gaza’s Hamas-run Health Ministry.
The bodies of seven people, including a child and three women, arrived at Al Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in Deir al Balah, according to an Associated Press journalist there.
And a strike in Gaza City hit people waiting outside a bakery, killing six, including three children, according to the civil defence, which operates under the Hamas-run government.
Last month, Israel ended its ceasefire with Hamas and restarted its air and ground offensive.
It has carried out waves of strikes and seized territory in an attempt to pressure Hamas to accept a new deal for a truce and release the remaining hostages.
It has also blocked the import of food, fuel and humanitarian aid for over a month.
“Stocks are getting low and the situation is becoming desperate,” the United Nations agency for Palestinian refugees said on social media.
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Israel ‘seizing territory’ in Gaza
On Sunday night, Israel’s military ordered Palestinians to evacuate several neighbourhoods in Gaza’s Deir al Balah shortly after around 10 projectiles were fired from Gaza.
The military said around five were intercepted, and Hamas’s military arm claimed responsibility.
Police said a rocket fell in Ashkelon, an Israeli city just to the north of Gaza, and fragments fell in several other areas.
The Magen David Adom emergency service said one man was lightly injured, and the military later said it struck a rocket launcher in Gaza.
A woman bakes bread in an oven in Gaza City. Pic: Reuters
Netanyahu visits Trump
It comes as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu heads to the United States to meet with Donald Trump to discuss the war.
Mr Netanyahu said the pair would also discuss the new 17% tariff imposed on Israel as part of Mr Trump’s sweeping new tariffs.
“There is a very large queue of leaders who want to do this with respect to their economies. I think it reflects the special personal connection and the special connection between the United States and Israel, which is so vital at this time,” Mr Netanyahu said during a visit to Hungary.
The war between Israel and Hamas began when Hamas-led militants invaded Israel on 7 October 2023 and killed around 1,200 people and took 251 hostage.
Some 59 hostages are still being held in Gaza, with 24 still believed to be alive.
Israel’s offensive has killed at least 50,695 Palestinians, according to Gaza’s Hamas-run health ministry, which does not differentiate between civilians or combatants, with another 115,338 wounded.
Israel says it has killed around 20,000 militants.
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