TRIBUTES have been paid to a couple from Scotland who were killed when the taxi they were travelling in was caught up in raging flash floods on Majorca.
Named locally as Anthony and Delia Green from Moffat in Dumfries and Galloway, they are understood to have died along with taxi driver Juan Sillero when their car was swept away by a torrent of water near the resort of S’Illot.
Authorities on the island said 10 people, three of them foreigners, died when torrential rain engulfed the region around the town of Sant Llorenc, about 40 miles east of the capital Palma. Friend Emilio Dicerbo said everyone in Moffat, where the Greens lived for more than 10 years, would be “devastated” by their deaths.
The 84-year-old retired ice cream merchant said: “They were a very friendly, lovely couple.
“Tony would always get out a bit to the shops most mornings and we would have a blether.
“He was a [retired publican and headteacher. When Delia was out she would always have a blether, but she was very limited [due to bad health].
“Everyone will be devastated. Just the kind of characters they were – very friendly.”
Dicerbo said the couple, who were in their 70s and originally from England, were visiting the Spanish island for a holiday.
Some parts of Majorca received up to 9in (23cm) of rainfall in a matter of hours on Tuesday evening.
Witnesses described having minutes to find safety as the water levels rose, inundating houses and catching motorists off guard.
The floodwaters tore down trees, swept numerous cars and trucks into piles of twisted metal and buried streets under mud.
Green, 77, and his wife, 75, were being driven to a hotel in Cala Bona when the taxi was caught in the floodwaters, the newspaper Diario de Mallorca reported.
Rescue workers reportedly found the car submerged and on its side at the mouth of the torrent in S’Illot at 2am local time on Wednesday.
Military divers found the couple’s bodies still inside, while Sillero was later found lifeless nearby, the paper said.
A Foreign Office spokesman said: “We are supporting the family of two British people following their deaths in Spain, and will do all we can to assist them at this deeply difficult time.
“Our staff remain in contact with the Spanish authorities who are responsible for responding to the floods, and are ready to assist any other British people who require our help.”
The Spanish authorities said 80 soldiers and seven vehicles from the military’s emergency unit had joined more than 100 rescuers deployed in the area.
Tennis star Rafael Nadal, who is from the island, was seen joining in with the clean-up effort. The world No 1 invited locals to take shelter at his tennis academy in nearby Manacor and then donned boots to join other volunteers.
“Sad day in Majorca,” the 30-year-old said on Twitter.
Spanish prime minister Pedro Sanchez called news of the flooding “devastating” as he visited the area.
He said: “My solidarity and support goes out to the families and friends of victims and all the affected by these tragic floods.”
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