Bodies of Rubén (3) and Izan (5) Found in Two Different Villages After Valencia Storms

valencia - Spanish media reports the discovery of the bodies of Rubén and Izan in two different villages in Valencia after severe storms.

According to Spanish media, the bodies of the children were found in two different villages, both located a few kilometers from their family home in Torrent, where they were playing indoors that day. Over the past two weeks, dozens of military personnel, rescue workers with search dogs, divers, many neighbors, and other volunteers have been searching for the bodies of Rubén and Izan.

On the day of the storm, October 29, Victor, the father of Rubén and Izan, decided to leave work early and pick up his children earlier from their aunt, due to the weather warnings. Their mother was still at work. When the storm hit, the children were playing in the living room of their house in Masía del Juez, in Torrent, which was close to a ravine.

The father was making croquettes in the kitchen when the power went out. The children cried out of fear, and the father took them to the dining room. At that moment, they heard a loud crash. The raging water carried a truck from a parking lot, which hit the house. A wall was completely demolished, allowing the water to flow into the house and wash away the three of them. The father managed to cling to a tree, but he had to watch his children being washed away. Five hours later, Victor was rescued by rescue workers, but there was no trace of the boys for over two weeks.

Today, the family will officially identify the bodies of the children. The municipality of Torrent has offered the family psychological support, as have many relatives of the victims who are receiving assistance these days.

Currently, 17 missing people are still being searched for as a result of the storm, mainly in Valencia. The death toll in Spain stands at 223, with nearly all fatal victims (215) in Valencia. After two weeks, all bodies have been identified.

There is now a new DANA active. The Spanish meteorological service Aemet has issued a red alert for the province of Málaga and part of the province of Tarragona due to heavy rainfall expected there. In Malaga, the streets are currently completely empty, and metro lines 1 and 2 are not operating. Granada was also hit by the storm yesterday: cars were washed through the streets, a sight that has been common in Spain in recent weeks.

For other parts of the country, including the Valencia region, the Balearic Islands, and Catalonia, an orange alert is in effect. The north of Extremadura, the south of Castile and León, and coastal provinces in Galicia also have a chance of heavy rainfall. In over a hundred villages and cities, schools are closed due to the weather forecasts, with half of them located in Valencia. Weather experts are particularly concerned about new consequences of the storm in Valencia, as the ground is saturated with water and has little capacity to absorb large amounts again.

A debate is taking place today in the Spanish parliament on how the 'Generalitat' (the regional government) of Valencia acted on the day of the disaster. There is especially heavy criticism of regional premier Carlos Mazón, who was reportedly unreachable for hours on October 29 because he was having lunch with a journalist. This delayed the public warning and advice for residents throughout the region not to go outside until thousands of residents were already trapped on the roads due to the flooding.