'Life turned to dust': A family's grief after Spain floods

Like each genitor successful Valencia that day, Victor Matías had rapidly changed his plans, fearing what could beryllium connected the way.

The rainfall was inactive thundering down, but by present - aboriginal evening - helium had managed to permission enactment early, safely prime up his boys from nursery and was astir to marque their favourite meal – croquetas.

The crispy fried rolls of mashed potatoes, stuffed afloat of food and ham, would beryllium a dainty for Izan, 5, and Rubén, 3, portion their mum Marta finished her precocious displacement astatine the supermarket successful town.

We person pieced unneurotic the tragic chronology of what happened next.

Our representation emerges from the grounds of neighbours and relatives we spoke to, arsenic good arsenic what Victor was capable to callback himself on with different first-hand accounts fixed to section media.

The crushing communicative of the Matías household has generated immense attraction successful Spain. Many person followed updates connected “Los niños desaparecidosas” – the missing children - arsenic they person been often described.

But this 1 family’s grief is galore people’s grief arsenic it’s a nightmare replicated crossed the Valencia portion which was hammered by flash flooding astir 2 weeks ago, sidesplitting astatine slightest 219 people.

More than 90 are inactive missing.

When we arrived astatine the household home, a fewer days aft the deluge, it was languishing successful a oversea of destruction.

That startling statistic - a year’s worthy of rainfall had been dumped connected immoderate parts of Valencia successful a substance of hours – became casual to judge arsenic you took each this in.

Huge metallic containers – breached escaped from their articulated lorries – rested astatine unfathomable angles amid a jumble of cars, crumpled furnishings and treacherous mud.

One of the fewer things inactive intact was the doorway to what had been the boys’ bedroom; the bright, achromatic idiosyncratic letters spelling their names lasting retired successful a oversea of brown.

Picking his mode done this messiness was Jonathan Perez, their next-door neighbour, who began to relive the terrifying series of events. “It was madness” helium said. “I’ve ne'er seen specified force.”

Jonathan explained to america however the raging torrent had scooped up trucks parked adjacent doorway to the Matías household location with 1 smashing done an outer wall.

He said that Victor had explained to him however he’d grabbed his sons successful his arms arsenic the h2o dragged them each outside.

Then – contempt his hopeless efforts to support clasp of them - they were gone.

Victor was recovered astir 4 hours later, much than 200 metres away.

He had been clinging to a tree.

His parent – the boys' grandma – revealed that Victor had been acceptable to propulsion himself into the torrent and surrender to his fate, but past stopped.

He told himself helium could not permission his woman alone.

For 5 twelvemonth aged Izan and 3 twelvemonth aged Rubén, fewer places felt safer than the playground that was their location and garden.

Their aunt, Barbara Sastre, told america they were similar small bugs - “bichetes” - an endearing statement to convey however they buzzed around, that is, erstwhile they weren’t absorbed by their cartoons.

“They were specified blessed kids” she told us.

Izan and Rubén’s parents had bought the spot from a antheral called Francisco Javier Arona.

Javi – arsenic he’s known - told EFE, the Spanish quality agency, that the location had go “a paradise" for the Matías family.

He said helium himself had lovingly constructed the location successful La Curra, a neighbourhood of Mas del Jutge, successful a assemblage benignant implicit 3 years.

Javi said he’d affixed ornamental amphoras and delicate clay stars beneath a sweeping arch.

Outside, determination was small postulation successful the cul-de-sac, meaning the boys could tally astir carefree with small perceptible danger.

The impending tempest gathering overheard connected 29 October was a precise large danger, and truthful Victor closed his concern aboriginal and picked up his boys from the nursey truthful that helium could support them harmless and adust astatine home, arsenic the rainfall fell harder and harder.

The unit of the downpour became incredible, and soon the powerfulness was cut.

The brothers’ grandma, Antonia María Matías, a 72 twelvemonth aged crab patient, told ABC Sevilla that she had called her lad Victor astatine astir 6pm and heard the brothers crying.

The h2o astir them was rising each the time. But still, they were harmless for now.

It whitethorn person been their haven, but the household location was besides adjacent to a lorry park.

Jonathan Perez, their adjacent doorway neighbour, explained to america however this played a deadly role.

He said, “The begetter told america that determination was a motortruck that deed the backmost of the location and the unit of the h2o tore distant everything.”

“Victor regained his footing and carried the boys successful his arms. But past helium realized helium nary longer had them. The h2o took everything successful its path,” helium explained.

Barbara Sastre, the boy’s aunt besides told america astatine slightest 1 motortruck had sliced unfastened the location successful a stroke that precipitated the boys and their dada being swept towards the adjacent ravine.

The unnamed proprietor of the parking batch from wherever the trucks came told 1 paper they had not deed the household house. He insisted it was the spot of the h2o that did the fatal damage.

Jonathan, the neighbour, encapsulated the seething choler millions of Spaniards are feeling. Particularly, astatine the information the authoritative reddish alert sent to mobile phones came astatine 8pm - acold excessively late.

“They were loving beingness and they hadn’t adjacent started being people, they were 3 and 5 years old”, helium said.

“With amended coordination, amended management, and an earlier alarm – adjacent fractional an hr earlier – those kids could person been saved and those parents would not beryllium going done hell.”

The full neighbourhood successful La Curra, stunned and shattered by the unit of the flooding, instantly began to hunt for the missing Izan and Rubén.

At slightest they did erstwhile the h2o had receded sufficiently for them to ascent down from trees and clamber disconnected their cars and effort to re-orientate themselves.

They were helped by constabulary officers from adjacent Alicante, including a person of Victor’s, who rapidly arrived and began a hopeless search.

But wherever to start?

Cars, bricks, furniture frames had been carried hundreds of meters from wherever they erstwhile stood.

A squad of firefighters from Mallorca and past Civil Protection volunteers from the land of Ibiza besides came and scoured the astir hard-to-reach areas.

Despite astir 2 weeks of intensive regular searches, the brothers person not been found.

In the hours earlier everything changed, Marta - the parent of the boys - had started her precocious displacement astatine the shop, harmless successful the cognition their dada would beryllium picking them up from schoolhouse and taking them home.

In the aboriginal hours of the adjacent morning, she was told her boys were gone.

Relatives accidental they can’t picture what Marta is experiencing.

The boy’s grandma, Antonia María, said her lad Victor’s beingness had been destroyed - successful her ain words “turned to dust”.

As helium was recovering successful hospital, Victor took to sleeping with his boys’ blankets - salvaged from the ruins of their household location - resting connected his face.

It is the closest helium tin beryllium to them now.