Shropshire Star

Staffordshire daughter's anguish after parents confirmed dead in Spanish floods

The daughter of a couple who have been found dead in their car days after flash flooding hit Spain has spoken of her anguish.

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Terry, 74, and Don Turner, 78, were discovered in a sparsely-populated area where they lived near the small town of Pedralba, a 45-minute drive north-west of Valencia

The couple's daughter, Ruth O'Loughlin, from Burntwood, confirmed her parents’ bodies were found in their car on Saturday (November 2).

Ms O'Loughlin said her parents had moved to Spain about ten years ago as they "always wanted to live in the sunshine."

Flooding in the Valenica region of Spain has claimed the lives of 95 people.
Flooding in the Valenica region of Spain has claimed the lives of 95 people.

She said she was told the pair were missing on Thursday (October 31), after friends checked on them and found their pets at home.

She said: "I last spoke to my mother the day before the floods, and we had a good chat but I wasn't able to reach either her or my father on the day we learned of the flooding.

"We held out hope they were still alive and maybe sheltering somewhere but then got the devastating news at the weekend and we are just trying to take it in.

"When I last spoke to mum we talked about them coming over here next year to spend some time with us and we just ended the call and I'm really glad I said 'I love you' and she said she loves me too." 

She said her parents enjoyed their lives in Spain where her father loved the sun and her mother volunteered at a dog rescue centre,

She added: "They were together. They had great friends there, and We got comfort in knowing that they made friends everywhere they went.” 

Emergency workers in Valencia continue to search underground car parks and tunnels in the hope of finding survivors.