Man and woman rescued from cars as floods hit Spain

Spanish rescue workers tore open the roof of a convertible car so a man could be winched to safety by helicopter as floods devastated the east of the country.

Videos released on social media showed water surging through the streets of Murcia, the capital of an area popular with British holidaymakers.

In 10 minutes of rainfall earlier this week, 32 litres per square metre was recorded in the area, swelling to 43 litres after 20 minutes.

A woman had to be rescued after her car was dragged off the road by the storm on the outskirts of the city, with a helicopter called in to take her away for medical attention.

One video showed how rescue workers ripped open the top of a convertible car to extract a male driver amid fast-flowing water near the Mar Menor beach resort.

The man was winched away to an ambulance waiting on dry ground nearby.

In Molina de Segura, also in the Murcia region, rescue services saved four people from stranded cars, including a woman and her eight-year-old daughter.

The heavy rain also caused flash floods in the neighbouring provinces of Alicante and Albacete.

In total, emergency services responded to 589 calls for help, including 40 cases where people had to be rescued from floodwaters.

Majorca, off Spain’s east coast, has also been hit by heavy rainfall this week. On Tuesday, Majorca airport had to suspend flights when the runway flooded.

Officials at the airport said that 100 of flights scheduled to operate on Tuesday, including many from British travel hubs such as Gatwick, Luton and Bristol, had been affected by the storms.

The storm also brought strong winds, with two trees falling in Murcia and blocking a branch of the city’s tramway.