NEWS
NEWS

Spanish Emergency Military Unit extracts mud and water to imminently enter the parking lot of the Bonaire shopping center in search of victims

Updated

Submariners from the Emergency Military Unit (UME) have managed to enter the underground parking lot of the Bonaire shopping center in Aldaia, one of the areas most affected by the DANA last Tuesday. So far, at least 210 deaths have been recorded in the Valencian Community

Fire department personnel extract water from the subway parking lot of the Bonaire Shopping Center.
Fire department personnel extract water from the subway parking lot of the Bonaire Shopping Center.EFE

According to sources from the operation, water pumping operations have allowed the water level to drop to one and a half meters in the last few hours, which will allow divers to carry out an initial inspection of the parking lot in search of possible victims on the premises.

The underground parking lot of this commercial space very close to Manises airport and the municipality of Aldaia had become in the last hours a critical point, since it has two floors - although usually only one is used - and they were completely flooded with water. At the moment, there is no information about how many vehicles may be inside. According to the center's management, as reported by ABC, there is no evidence that any worker could have been trapped inside.

In any case, it is not ruled out that bodies of people may appear in the parking lot who were on Tuesday afternoon in this extensive commercial area with 5,400 parking spaces, of which just under half are underground. Customers usually leave their vehicles in the outdoor areas.

Throughout the morning, the transit of rescue vehicles is continuous. In the cordoned-off area, the UME is working, preparing the entrance to the parking lot with two zodiacs and other specialized military vehicles, and the National Police controlling the perimeter. The Scientific Police were also seen early on, and a drone and a helicopter supervising the area.

The surroundings of the shopping center are completely devastated, with scenes very similar to those seen in other parts of the region: wrecked cars on any shoulder, piles of debris and brush, a foot of mud that is starting to dry, and even collapsed buildings in the Loriguilla industrial estate, separated from Bonaire by the A-3 highway.