The corpses found in the course of the Alberche river yesterday, Friday, correspond to the grandfather who was swept away by the current in Villamanta (Madrid) and the father of the family who also disappeared due to the storm that crossed the Iberian Peninsula on Sunday, in the Madrid town of ‘ Village of Fresno. This was confirmed by the Government delegate in Madrid, Francisco Martín Aguirre, in statements released through a press release. With these deaths, there are seven deaths from DANA.
“At this moment we can already confirm that the first of them is José Manuel Aguado, the grandfather who was swept away by the flood in Villamanta, and the second of them, in the absence of scientific verification, although all the evidence points to it, it is Manuel López, the father of the family who disappeared in that car”, stated the Government delegate in the afternoon.
Despite the fact that the confirmation of the identity of Manuel López is pending some scientific tests, the Civil Guard indicated that his identification documentation was found on the clothes worn by the corpse, as reported by a spokeswoman for the security force.
The bodies were taken by helicopter to the town of Aldea del Fresno, where a judicial entourage went for recognition and identification.
Yesterday morning, a unit composed of three divers and specialists in mountain rescues from the Civil Guard located the two corpses in a 200-meter stretch of the Alberche river, on the fifth day of the search. They disappeared Sunday morning due to the storm caused by the isolated depression at high levels (DANA).
Manuel López, 50 years old, fell with his car into the river on his way through Aldea del Fresno, accompanied by his wife and two children. His wife, who was on a small rise located very close to where her husband’s body was found and tied to two logs, was rescued on Sunday, while his daughter managed to reach the park on her own foot of the Fire Department that is at the entrance of the town that same night. The ten-year-old son was found the next morning clinging to the branch of a tree, where he remained climbing for eight hours, and with symptoms of hypothermia.
José Manuel Aguado, 83 years old and suffering from Alzheimer’s, also disappeared on Sunday night, when he was swept away by the current near his home in the Jirfa housing estate, in the municipality of Villamanta. The octogenarian has appeared about seven kilometers from the place where he disappeared and, according to the Civil Guard, he would have been dragged by the current to the place where he was found.
“The first message I want to send you is the affection, esteem and solidarity of the Government of Spain and of all citizens to the families and friends of the two dead”, said Martín Aguirre.
The Civil Guard and the emergency services had been looking for the two men along the Alberche River and its surroundings for five days.
Over the last three days, a hundred Civil Guard agents from many specialties have worked in Aldea del Fresno, while 50 were looking for them in Villamanta.
The Government delegate recognized and thanked the work of the security forces and the emergency services, in addition to highlighting “the responsible and cautious attitude of the public that has prevented the consequences of this catastrophe from being even worse big”.
In Toledo, where three people have died as a result of the storm, the search continues for a woman who was swept away by the flood while driving on the CM-4004 road near the municipality of Valmojado.
Sources from the Civil Guard reported that at 8:30 a.m. this Friday, the search resumed with a raid from the intersection of the road along which the victim was traveling to the CM-41, following the course of the stream and surroundings
