Four seniors die after river floods retirement home in Lleida

Four senior citizens died in Lleida province early Tuesday morning after a river burst its banks and flooded their retirement home.

The tragedy occurred at around 4am when water from the River Sió reached the town of Agramunt, in Urgell district, and inundated the Ribera de Sió nursing home in a matter of seconds, local residents reported.

Two of the five survivors have been admitted to hospital suffering from “severe hypothermia”

The center contacted emergency services after several residents with mobility problems found themselves unable to escape.

Firefighters rescued several of the home’s 67 residents but nine remained missing. Five of them were subsequently found and taken to safety by fire services and Mossos d’Esquadra Catalan regional police, but at around 7am worst fears were confirmed when four of the missing were discovered dead. All the victims were women from the town of Agramunt.

Town mayor Bernat Solé told local television that some of the senior residents suffered from reduced mobility and others had health problems that meant they had to be restrained in order to sleep.

Two of the five survivors have been admitted to hospital suffering from “severe hypothermia” but are expected to recover. The Mossos d’Esquadra have opened an investigation into the incident.

English version by Nick Funnell.