The delegate of the Government of Castilla-La Mancha in Albacete reported on Tuesday afternoon the discovery of a fourth body among the remains of sediments generated by the flood that devastated Letur a week ago. There is still no confirmation about his identity, but it would be a man, according to the first information that Pedro Antonio Ruiz Santos has offered.
The body has been located at the mouth of the stream in the Segura River, about five kilometers from the town. It is an area where all the sediment from the flood of October 29 has accumulated, which, in three waves, left a total of six people missing. Four have already been located, although two are unidentified.
Almost 100 troops are dedicated to searching for missing people, with support from canine units. “The search is being very complex,” he commented, and extends into a terrain where there is up to two meters of sediment, on which the machines are working, in addition to the support of boats.
Ruiz Santos has revealed that authorization was requested from the Segura Hydrographic Confederation to reduce the flow of the river. Specifically, it has gone from 1.5 m3 per second to 0.75 m3 per second “to work more quickly.”
Efforts continue to identify another body
On Monday afternoon, the third body of a person whose identity is being analyzed was located. The Civil Guard reported throughout Tuesday that there are “doubts” about the identity of the body found about 500 meters from the town’s boulevard. It was initially reported that it was a man, specifically Jonathan, a young man missing along with his partner. In a second check by the Civil Guard, “doubts have arisen” regarding his identity.
The chief colonel of the Civil Guard, Jesús Manuel Rodrigo, has indicated that these “reasonable doubts” arose when applying the corresponding protocol and that more expert evidence will be necessary to confirm who it is.
“Until the identity is confirmed we cannot say exactly whose body is found.” Rodrigo adds that around 40 Civil Guard troops are working in the area. Three other missing people are still being searched in the town.
The delegate of the Community Board in Albacete, Pedro Antonio Ruiz Santos explained that the body was found under “a lot of mud and material” and the remains were sent to the Forensic Anatomical Institute of Madrid to carry out DNA analysis.
One of the canine units that works in the town gave the notice on Monday night that allowed the discovery of the human remains. Work then intensified in the area.
“The search for missing people is the priority,” said Ruiz Santos, who explained first thing in the morning that work is being done manually at the site because the machinery cannot access it.
In those first hours, the four families of the missing people were gathered so that they could be present and the discovery could be communicated to them. “This is not going to stop, the work continues, we have increased the device to 17 machines and the canine unit continues to work incessantly and we want to convey this news to you so that there is no uncertainty,” Ruiz Santos concluded.
After the first hours of the flood, a 92-year-old woman, Dolores, was located next to the town’s treatment plant. Later, on Sunday, November 3, the body of one of the people wanted in the town was located. It was a 70-year-old woman, whose body was found 12 kilometers from the town of Albacete. The woman, Antonia, was at her home located in one of the points where the torrent of water passed, which would have swept her away. Added to her death was that of Dolores, a 92-year-old neighbor whose lifeless body was found in the first hours after the flood occurred.
In the town they are still searching for two people, a woman and a man, who are still missing.
Access to the historic center and study of the homes
In parallel, today the president of the Albacete Provincial Council, Santi Cabañero, has highlighted that the institution’s Architecture Service continues working in the town, where ten homes with structural damage have been identified after the flood. Five have already been shot down.
The team of architects has been able to access new areas of the town to assess the situation. “There are many risk situations” in homes and “holes in the streets”, as the Civil Guard has been able to confirm through a drone inspection. Now it is being studied whether it is possible to enter to carry out debris removal tasks.
At the moment the entire area has been cordoned off so that no neighbors can enter. “We ask for understanding,” said Cabañero, because it is about “guaranteeing security.”
Letur’s mobile side will offer information, even through photos. “We want them to know that this is not a whim. The first thing for us is safety,” following the instructions of the technical services of Architecture and Firefighters, “given the risk that still exists in many homes of landslides.” Access to the old town has been prohibited until it is confirmed to be safe.
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