10,000 more police and soldiers to help Spain flood recovery efforts

Spain is sending 5,000 more soldiers and 5,000 more police to the eastern region of Valencia after deadly floods this week killed more than 200 people, Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said.

So far, 205 bodies have been recovered – 202 in Valencia, two in neighboring Castilla La Mancha and one in Andalusia in the south – in Spain’s deadliest natural disaster in living memory.

Two women hold hands after the floods in Massanassa, just outside Valencia (Alberto Saiz/AP/PA)

Rescuers were still searching for bodies in stuck cars and waterlogged buildings on Saturday, four days after monster floods swept away everything in their path in the east of the country.

An unknown number of people remain missing.

Thousands of volunteers are helping to clear the thick mud covering streets, homes and businesses in the worst-hit cities.

About 2,000 military personnel are currently involved in the emergency work, as well as nearly 2,500 Civil Guard gendarmes — who carried out 4,500 rescues during the floods — and 1,800 national police.