Boy rescued after spending night clinging to a tree to escape deadly flooding in Spain
SPAIN -- A 10-year-old boy has been rescued near Madrid after spending the night clinging to a tree to escape severe flooding as Storm Dana lashed the country with torrential rains in recent days, killing at least three people.
The boy disappeared with his mother, father, and sister when their car "fell into" the Alberche River in the town of Aldea del Fresno, in the Madrid region of Spain, on Sunday night, Spanish state broadcaster RTVE reported on Monday.
The mother and sister were found that night and transported to hospital, but the boy was missing until around 8 a.m. on Monday morning, when he was found by the guard of a private property, RTVE reported. Searches are still ongoing for the boy's father.
The heavy rains in Spain have claimed the lives of at least three people in the province of Toledo following severe flooding in the area, Emiliano García-Page, the president of the Castilla-La Mancha region, confirmed on Monday.
On Sunday, Garcia-Page described the storm's impact as "very hard and hostile," with images showing overturned cars and damaged property.
The storm follows a summer of extreme weather for Spain, which has grappled with searing heatwaves and devastating wildfires. Scientists are clear that extreme weather will only get more intense and more frequent as the human-caused climate crisis accelerates.
The severe rainfall eased on Tuesday, with the country's national weather service AEMET downgrading alerts for the region from red to yellow.