Spanish authorities have identified the body of a 56-year-old man who was swept away during the devastating floods in the Valencia region last year, the deadliest such disaster in the country in decades.
DNA tests confirmed on Thursday that the body, discovered on Tuesday in the Turia River, belonged to one of three people reported missing since the tragedy on 29 October 2024, which claimed more than 230 lives, a Valencia court said.
The court added that the victim, like the other two missing individuals, “had already been declared legally dead,” so the official death toll remains unchanged.
Authorities said the floodwaters carried the body approximately 30 kilometres from the town of Pedralba to the municipality of Manises, near Valencia, Spain’s third-largest city.
A state funeral will be held in Valencia on 29 October to mark the disaster’s anniversary, which raised serious questions about the adequacy of early warning systems and the emergency response.
Campaigners have protested monthly, calling for the resignation of regional government head Carlos Mazon over his handling of the floods. The next demonstration is scheduled for Saturday.
Regional authorities maintain that they did not possess sufficient information to issue earlier warnings.
