Nelson Quijano, a Colombian killed by DANA in Spain, had never left the country

Nelson Quijano, 59 years old, was the Colombian who died from the DANA that hit mainly Valencia, Spain, a tragedy that already leaves 205 dead, while the desperate search for missing people continues in the flooded areas and the authorities try to deliver food to the affected populations, in the catastrophe most serious natural disaster that the country has suffered in decades.

>> Follow minute by minute what happens in Valencia after the passage of DANA

It was the first time that Bumanguese Nelson Quijano left Colombia. He traveled to Spain two months ago to reunite with his son, whom he had not seen for three years.. The young man lived in Valencia and had bought the tickets from his parents.

Carlos Quijano, brother of the victim, told Noticias Caracol live that The objective was “to meet, to take a walk on behalf of my nephew, who is their son. He traveled with his wife. I was going to be there for 3 or 4 months.”

Nelson was happy because not only would he see his son again, but also the first star of his favorite team, Atlético Bucaramanga. That’s why he brought him a stuffed animal of the club’s mascot as a gift.

However, the joy turned into a nightmare when Carlos, distraught because his brother was not answering his calls, decided to contact his sister-in-law, who “answered him and told me yes, that my nephew was with the authorities looking at the part of the havoc that had been caused.” Hours later they confirmed that Nelson Quijano had drowned.

Gladys Quijano, a relative of the deceased, revealed that her “nephew What he is requesting is help from the embassy so he can cover the funeral expenses there in Spain.”, taking into account that the young man is living in the Iberian country.

The emergency services, which were joined this Friday by another 500 soldiers (300 from the Army, 100 from the Air and 100 from the Navy), are working hard to search for missing people and are also dedicating themselves to opening roads to facilitate access and the distribution of basic aid.

Meanwhile, thousands of people traveled on foot from the city center of Valencia to the nearby towns most affected by the floods, carrying buckets, mops, shovels and carts loaded with water and food. However, the authorities demanded that no one travel, either in their vehicles or on foot, to the affected areas to prevent the access roads from collapsing and facilitate the work of the emergency services.

More than one hundred roads are still closed in the regions of Valencia, Andalusia and Castilla-La Mancha and thousands of people are still without water or electricity, as well as without telephones; Many neighbors go to the places where emergency personnel distribute water.

In Letur (Albacete), one of the towns most shaken by the enormous force of the water, 200 people from emergency services and volunteers resumed the search for the five people who remain missing, helped by ten dogs from the Military Emergency Unit and the Civil Guard who search the old town center.

Calls are being made from some of the most affected municipalities to help with tractors, cranes, dump trucks or generator sets, and some farmer organizations are asking their associates to take their tractors out onto the streets to help remove the cars that accumulate in the streets. roads and streets, to clear the mud and thus facilitate the work that the emergency services and thousands of volunteers are providing.

The State Meteorological Agency (Aemet) stressed that the adverse situation has not subsided, that the intense rainfall continues and will last throughout the weekend and the importance of checking the weather and the state of the roads. before traveling.

Five regions are still on alert and In the case of Andalusia – in the province of Huelva – the warning is “red” level (extreme risk) due to torrential rains that are being registered and that in some points can exceed 140 liters per square meter.

The “orange” alerts (significant risk) extend to many places in Andalusia (south), the Valencian Community, Catalonia and the Balearic Islands, these regions in the east of Spain, where rainfall will be very abundant and persistent and accumulations of very high water.

“We are going to send a very clear message and we are going to leave it fixed. The meteorological emergency has not ended. DANA continues over Spain“, published the Aemet-Comunidad Valenciana, and left this message posted on its X account.

The President of the Government, Pedro Sánchez, who chaired the Crisis Committee this Friday to monitor the storm, stressed the same message through the social network in this crisis; They are “the example of solidarity and unlimited dedication of Spanish society.”