Tragedy as retired British couple are found dead in their car after getting caught in Valencia’s devastating flash floods following tragic final phone call with their daughter
A British couple who went missing in Spain’s devastating flash floods have been found dead in their car, their heartbroken family has revealed.
Terry and Don Turner, aged 74 and 78, had not been seen since torrential rains hit Valencia on Tuesday.
The couple’s daughter Ruth O’Loughlin, from Burntwood, Staffordshire, said today that her parents’ bodies had been found in their car on Saturday.
Friends of the retired ex-pats said Terry had told them they were ‘popping out’ to get some gas on Tuesday, Ms O’Loughlin said.
They later went to check the pensioners’ bungalow to see if they had managed to get home before the deadly floods swept in.
‘Friends had nipped up there because they hadn’t heard from mum and dad, the key was in the door, they could get into the property, the dogs were there and the car’s gone so they know that mum and dad haven’t gone back,’ she said last week.
British ex-pat Terry Turner, 74, is among the victims of Tuesday’s floods in Valencia
Don Turner, 78, had moved to Spain with his wife around 10 years ago
A view of mud and debris, following heavy rains that caused floods, at La Torre neighborhood in Valencia
A police officer checking inside piled up vehicles for victims in the aftermath of the flooding on Saturday
Satellite image shows severe flooding in Valencia on October 30 after heavy rains
Ms O’Loughlin previously told the BBC that her parents had moved to Spain around 10 years ago as they had ‘always wanted to live in the sunshine’.
They were popular in their community and had ‘lovely friends around them’, but had been considering moving back to the UK as they got older.
Ms O’Loughlin said she last spoke to her mother on Monday, the day before the floods hit, and said she had been ‘moaning about the rain’.
‘She was saying they wanted to do jobs to the house so they could put it up for sale but it’s raining a lot.
‘We talked about mum and dad coming over here next year to spend some time with us and we just ended the call and I’m really glad I said ‘I love you’ and she said she loves me too.’
As news emerged of the horrifying floods the next day, Ms O’Loughlin said he desperately tried to reach her mother and father but did not hear from them again.
Their deaths bring the number of Brits confirmed dead in the tragedy to three, with a 71-year-old man losing his life after being rescued from the floods in Málaga.
At least 217 people have been confirmed dead in the disaster, which amounts to the deadliest natural tragedy in living memory in Spain.
Rescuers are continuing their grim search of cars and underground garages, where it is feared that dozens more bodies could yet be found.
Almost all the deaths have been in the Valencia region, where thousands of security and emergency services frantically cleared debris and mud in the search for bodies.
Spain’s prime minister Pedro Sanchez has said it was the second deadliest flood in Europe this century.
Spain’s Queen Letizia consoles a woman during her visit to Paiporta, eastern Spain, November 3 2024
King Felipe’s visit to Paiporta was met with fury from locals, who say they have felt abandoned by authorities
A firefighter searches for victims in the half-buried wreckage of a car on a riverbank in Paiporta, in the region of Valencia, eastern Spain, on November 3, 2024
His government and the Valencian regional government have faced anger for what many are seeing as their mismanagement of the crisis.
The King and Queen of Spain also visited the region yesterday, and were confronted by angry survivors who yelled and slung mud at them as they walked through the muddy streets in Paiporta, one of the hardest-hit towns.
Queen Letizia could be seen with mud speckled over her face, while one of the bodyguards escorting the royals had seemingly been hit by an object as he had a cut on his forehead, which caused blood to run down his face.
The crowd shouted ‘murderers’ and other insults at the royals and government officials, including Sanchez, whose car was chase and had its windows smashed by furious protesters.
At one point, the crowd was so close to the King that they were able to have full conversations with him.
After one Valencian screamed at him, he said in response: ‘If you want, I won’t come and I’ll stay in Madrid.’
Police had to step in, with some officers on horseback to keep back the crowd of several dozens.
A soldier works in an area affected by floods in Catarroja, Spain
Vehicles pile up in the streets caused by late Tuesday and early Wednesday storm that left hundreds dead or missing in Alfafar, Valencia
A view of the demolition works at a damaged house after flash floods in Letur, province of Albacete, Spain
A crowd of angry survivors tossed mud and shouted insults at King Felipe VI and Queen Letizia as well as government officials when they made their first visit to one of the hardest hit towns on Sunday
Angry residents of Paiporta shout during King Felipe VI of Spain’s visit to this town, in the region of Valencia, eastern Spain, on November 3, 2024
Queen Letizia could be seen with mud speckled over her face
The storm and flooding has left carnage in its wake, with a huge clean-up operation now underway
The floods had already started filling Paiporta with crushing waves when regional officials issued an alert to mobile phones that sounded two hours too late on Tuesday.
And more anger has been fuelled by the inability of officials to respond quickly in the aftermath.
Most of the clean-up of the layers and layers of mud and debris that has invaded countless homes has been carried out by residents and thousands of volunteers.
