Helicopter Snatches Baby and Family From Deadly Valencia Floods

A maritime rescue helicopter winched eight adults, a child, a baby and a dog from floodwaters in eastern Spain, one of hundreds of rescues as the storm known as DANA Adam swamped the Valencia coast.

Footage released by Spain’s Maritime Rescue service shows a rescuer being lowered from Helimer 202 over submerged fields and homes in Oliva on the morning of October 19, then hoisting residents one by one into the cabin, including a small child held tightly in a rescuer’s arms.

The operation was coordinated by the Maritime Rescue Coordination Center in Valencia at the request of the regional government’s emergency service, the agency said. After dropping the survivors in Oliva and refueling, the helicopter continued patrolling the area for further emergencies.

DANA Adam dumped more than 600 liters of rain per square meter in parts of southern Valencia and northern Alicante. Two people were found dead in Oliva, bringing the storm’s confirmed toll to four. The Civil Guard alone evacuated 2,141 people and rescued 496 in Valencia and Alicante.