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By Johanna Gardener •
Published: 04 Nov 2024 • 23:42
• 3 minutes read
A British couple, reported missing were found dead in their car following the fatal flooding in Valencia and have been formally identified.
Don Turner aged 78 and Terri Turner aged 74 had not made contact with their family or friends since the heavy downpours and there were growing concerns about their safety. The worst was confirmed when the couple were found entrapped lifeless in their car on Saturday.
They were together. It s not the way you want your parents to go.
Ruth O’Loughlin, the couple’s daughter from Bruntwood, Staffordshire described how they had set out to buy gas together and that when she didn’t hear from them, she could only hope that they were waiting for rescuers. She told the BBC: We held out hope that they were still alive and maybe sheltering somewhere. Ms O’Loughlin went onto describe their harrowing final moments. She relayed how she didn’t know how her retired parents, who lived near Pedralba, had died but that the only reassuring detail was that they were together. She said: We still don t know exactly what happened to them. The only thing we ve got from this is that they were together. It s not the way you want your parents to go.
British couple among the 217 killed by flooding in Valencia region
Like many people across Spain, the retired couple’s two daughters, Renee Turner and Ruth O Loughlin, expressed that they were extremely angry at the local authorities and the Spanish government following the death of their beloved parents. They account for two of the 217 people who have lost their lives so far in the tragic flooding that struck last week, following storm DANA. Many are still unaccounted for and presumed trapped or dead, as rescuers scour the scene in a massive clean-up operation across several regions in Valencia.
Daughters of British couple killed by Valencia flooding recall last moments
Ms Turner, recalling last moments said that she had last spoken to her father on Monday and that it was strange that he hadn’t contacted her on the Tuesday as he had said he would. She explained: Sometimes that s not unusual, we can go a day or so without messaging every five minutes. However, she began to worry when, alerted by news of the flooding on the news, she sent messages to her father, but with no response. Ms O Loughlin recalled speaking to her mother and sharing “a good chat, the day before the floods but was similarly unable to get a response from either of her parents when the floods intensified.
By Thursday, Ms O’Loughlin was informed that her parents’ pet dogs had been found at their bungalow home but not her parents. Speaking about the incident, she sobbed: Not just our parents, so many people have died in this tragedy, and it is absolutely tragic.” She added: It should not have happened, not at all.
The retired couple residents of Pedralba were well-loved with many friends
Ms O Loughlin described her parents as being well-loved and well-known. Her mother, Terri was a lover of cooking and she described Mr. Turner, as a “proper dad” to them when the pair were youngsters. Ms O Loughlin added: “We’d both get up really early with him, sit on each arm of his armchair, ‘tell us a story dad, tell us a story about growing up’.
The mature couple had moved to Spain 10 years ago to pursue their lifelong dream of living a life in the sun and according to their daughters, had made great friends there.
UK man died in Málaga from cardiac arrests following heavy floods
In total, 217 people have been killed by the flooding across Valencia, Castilla-La Mancha and Málaga. Many were trapped in their cars, garages or houses or were swept away by the rapid currents. A further person from the UK, a 71-year-old man who has not yet been named but who lived in Málaga, also died as a result of the flooding when he suffered “severe cardiac arrests.”
In reaction to such severe unprecedented devastation and numerous fatalities, people from all corners of Spain have expressed disgust at how the extreme weather situation was managed. At the King’s visit to the storm-hit region of Pairporta on Sunday, accompanied by Prime Minister, Pedro Sánchez, the leaders were attacked with mud, objects and strong insults including “Murderers.” Solidarity for Spain has been strong across Europe with the EU pledging financial support and from the Spanish community itself, who have rallied to serve as volunteers in the worst-afflicted areas.
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Written by
Johanna Gardener
Originally from Manchester, UK and with a degree in English with Modern Foreign Languages, she has been a permanent resident in Spain for the past 12 years. Many of these years, she has spent working as a secondary school teacher, as well as in journalism, editing and marketing. She currently lives in the historic centre of Malaga, where she enjoys writing, walking and animals.
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