Madrid: The number of people who have died in the flash floods that devastated parts of eastern Spain recently stands at 217, with 89 more still missing, according to data published by the Integrated Data Center (CID) for the incident.
Around 211 of the victims are in the region of Valencia, five in neighbouring Castilla-La Mancha, and one in Andalusia, Xinhua news agency reported.
The Spanish government said on Wednesday that 7,987 troops are now working in the affected area, with 1,639 vehicles, including 12 helicopters and 18 boats.
The forces are also supported by around 5,000 National Police and Civil Guards, along with other rescue services including fire brigades from other parts of the country.
Apart from already announced aid packages by the Spanish government, the European Investment Bank and the Spanish government are also working on a further aid package.
Spanish radio station Cadena Ser, citing Interior Ministry sources, reported on Wednesday that Spanish Civil Guards have arrested three people in connection with an attack that happened several days ago in the food-hit town of Paiporta.
With the assistance of drones, Spanish troops continue their search in underground parking garages, where they started pumping out water from since the weekend. Divers also joined to help find potential missing bodies in inundated car parks, which have been difficult to drain in time as some of them were covered in metres of water.
Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez announced on Tuesday that a relief package of €10.6 billion has been approved to help victims of the flash floods. The package includes direct payments ranging from €20,000 to €60,000 to the owners of the damaged homes.
(IANS)
