World

Spanish boy survives floods by clinging to tree

A boy has survived deadly floods in Spain by climb­ing up a tree and holding on to it overnight.

The authorities said his family’s car had been swept into a river and the boy’s father was still missing.

The 10-year-old was being treated for hypothermia, Spanish media reported.

At least three people have died and another three are missing as record rainfall caused flooding in central Spain, according to police.

Bridges were torn down and roads turned into rivers of mud in the heaviest-hit regions southwest of Madrid.

In a rural part of this area, the boy’s family had been trying to escape the floods when their car was dragged into the river, the head of the Madrid region, Isabel Díaz Ayuso, said.

“The poor boy spent the whole night perched in a tree,” she said.

Spain’s civil guard police force said the boy’s mother and sister had been found, but rescue services were still looking for his father near Aldea de Fresno.

The father was one of three people swept away by the heavy rainfall rescuers were still looking for, the civil guard said.

It also confirmed three deaths as a result of the storm in the To­ledo region, southwest of Madrid.

The Spanish weather service (Aemet) said it had registered re­cord rainfall of 9cm (3.5in) in the region on Sunday. —BBC

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