Spain floods ‘miracle survivor’ filmed being swept away reveals how she survived ‘certain death’

A woman who was filmed being carried away by a torrent of water in one of the most viral videos to emerge from the Spanish flood tragedy so far is alive and has spoken about her “horror story” to reveal the miracle of her survival.

Conchi Serrano told how the front door of an apartment block broke open as she was being swept to what looked like a certain death, despite initial help from a brave local called Nicolas who went to her aid and they were able to enter and reach safety after a second dramatic scare with the assistance of residents. Managing a smile as she gave her first interview on Spanish TV and recounted her miracle tale, she said: “I have experienced a real horror story and it’s a miracle I’m alive.

“In the video that’s gone viral you only see a part of what happened but you can’t imagine what I and a man who jumped into the water to try to help me went through. One thing is telling people what happened and another thing is experiencing it in person.

“The bit you see in the video footage is when I’ve let go of the tree I was holding onto and the water’s sweeping me away and that’s when a man appears who’s holding onto some railings on a ground-floor property and he jumps into the water to try to save me. Fate had it that he had a jacket and with the jacket he grabbed hold of me and told me: ‘Hold onto me, hold onto me, stay calm, stay calm” as I was struggling to breathe.”

Conchi, who despite her near-death experience was unharmed physically, told a programme called Hoy En Dia which is broadcast by a Spanish regional TV channel called Canal Sur: “The water was getting higher and higher and we were at the entrance door to an apartment block with the residents trying to open it. There was no electricity and they couldn’t make make the buzzer work that had to be functioning to open it and it was impossible.

“I was shouting out ‘Get a hammer’ but they couldn’t do anything. There when we were staring death in the face, the pressure of the water forced the door open and that saved us. But there was another problem which was that the lift on the ground floor was filling with water and if you got knocked off your feet and fell into the lift you were going to die.

“I was being dragged towards the lift as if I was being flushed down a toilet and that man grabbed me again by his jacket, shouting ‘No, not the lift, you’re going to die, hold on, hold on, grab hold of the stairwell railings.’ The railings gave way and my saviour was on the stairs trying with all his strength to pull me up to where he was as I was being dragged towards the lift by the force of the water.

“Another man who lived in the block rushed to help him and as I don’t weigh a lot they were able to pull me to safety. That’s why I’m here today to tell my story. They took me up to one of the flats and calmed me down and dried my clothes and gave me blankets and let me call my partner to tell him I was okay.

“There I spent most of the night until the water levels went down and I was able to leave. I told the man who had saved my life who I only know is called Nicolas that I owed my life to him and I wanted to stay in touch with him.

“We didn’t exchange telephone numbers but I know he lives close to me but it’s a large town and we didn’t know each other. But a woman in the block of flats who gave me dry clothes and let us use her mobile to call our loved ones and let them know we were okay, will have his peoples’ numbers on her call history.

“When I go back to her place to return the clothes I’ll ask her for his number and give my thanks again to the other man who saved my life. Nicolas was the one who fought and fought against the water with me.”

Explaining why she ended up in the water in the first place, Conchi said: “I had arrived home from work and heard people yelling and a lot of noise and cars turned the wrong way round. People were shouting, ‘Water’s coming’ and moving their vehicles.

“I thought about my van which was parked a short way from my home and decided to go and check on it, never imagining a raging torrent of water would come. The pavement was dry but I realised when I went to cross the road to get to my van that I would have to get wet.

“I’d never seen a torrent of water like the one that came and I didn’t appreciate the severity of the situation. That’s when I happened to see my saviour Nicolas for the first time and asked him what was going on.

“He warned me not to move the van and said it was okay there because my idea was to drive it up the hill and I was seeing people moving their cars. I just went to the van to have a look and started calling people. As I was talking to my dad I saw the water was up the van’s wheels and decided I was just going to park it on the curb.

“In my ignorance and not knowing what was going on elsewhere or what was going to happen I carried on making calls to people and became distracted. All of a sudden water started coming into the vehicle and I got out with difficulty. I still didn’t appreciate the severity of the situation and spent time putting the car documents inside my blouse so they wouldn’t get wet and that’s when I got carried away by the water.

“I managed to grab hold of a tree and was shouting for help and people were throwing sheets and ladders towards me but it was impossible. Then cars started careering towards me at speed as they were swept away by the water.

“If I had been hit by a car that would have been the end of me and they passed by very close.” Conchi’s older sister Maria, who was also interviewed on the same programme, said as she broke down in tears: “I knew immediately when I saw the video footage that it was my sister.

“I know a lot of viewers will know what I’m saying because when you’ve got a sister or a child you love so much, you just know and it was real. I’m so sorry for the people who have lost loved ones. I’m lucky enough to be able to say that my sister is safe, my family are safe and healthy. Everything else, money, work, doesn’t mater to me when it comes to that.”

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