1 dead after roof collapses in flood-damaged Spanish school

MADRID: A labourer working on repairs to a school near Valencia damaged in the deadly floods that ravaged eastern Spain last month was killed when a roof collapsed, authorities said today.

The victim was killed during “ongoing repair work in this establishment” in Massanassa, a town of 9,000 people in the Valencia suburbs, regional prefect Pilar Bernabe told journalists.

Bernabe added that a second person was injured and taken to hospital following the incident, which occurred around midday.

Spain’s prime minister Pedro Sanchez posted on X offering his and his government’s solidarity with “the family, friends and colleagues of the deceased worker”.

“I should like to thank and salute the work of all those participating tirelessly on the reconstruction work,” Sanchez added.

“Their devotion and their commitment are the best example of public service.”

The flooding in eastern Spain claimed at least 228 lives – all but seven in the Valencia region.

Valencia regional president Carlos Mazon, who indicated the deceased and the injured colleague both worked for public works company Tragsa, has called an emergency meeting following the incident.

Mazon, under fire in recent weeks over what some have deemed a chaotic response by regional authorities to the flooding, said the meeting would “analyse” what had happened and why.

Authorities say some soldiers from an emergency unit tasked with responding to natural disasters were in the building when the roof collapsed but managed to escape the unscathed.

The latest tragedy to hit the region comes amid ongoing work to clear and restore infrastructure destroyed by the flooding which damaged thousands of buildings and vehicles.

Valencia’s regional administration says state and regional services have cleared some 200,000 tons of mud and waste since the end of last month.