Body found on Tarragona beach is woman missing since heavy rain in June
Spanish Guàrdia Civil police identify victim by comparing her DNA with familiar
The body found on Miracle beach in the southern city of Tarragona on June 29 belongs to a woman missing since the heavy rain recorded in mid-June in inland Catalonia.
The storm in the town of Ullastrell saw the Gaià stream flood and dragged a car, leaving inside a body. Firefighters at the time already believed there was a second passenger in the vehicle.
Spanish Guàrdia Civil police identified the victim by comparing her DNA with the one collected by Mossos d'Esquadra police to her family.
The flood occurred on June 13, and the emergency services spent several days looking for the victim.
The body, carried by the sea, appeared on the beach on a Thursday at midday. Sources told the Catalan News Agency (ACN) that the body was in an advanced state of decomposition and had no legs or only one arm.
207 incidents
During the heavy rain, the Catalan Fire Department attended to 207 incidents between 1-11 pm on June 13.
In cities such as Terrassa, where rainfall caused numerous incidents, around 87 mm of rain fell between 3-5 pm.
The majority of incidents that firefighters attended to occurred in the central regions, while plenty were also seen in the northern areas of Catalonia.
The 112 emergency services number received 455 calls related to 321 incidents by 10 pm.
Most of the services the fire brigade was alerted to were for floods and leaks, but agents also had to activate the Underwater Special Action Group to rescue people trapped by sudden floods, although serious personal damage was not reported in any of the incidents.