Spanish authorities redeployed a marine research vessel on Tuesday to join the search for missing flood victims off the Mediterranean coast.
According to Spain's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ramon Margalef is a 151-foot-long ship that is “equipped with cutting-edge technology and capable of exploring the ocean with great precision and detail,” and will host researchers, technicians, and “state-of-the-art” It is expected to arrive in Valencia with the equipment on Saturday. Science, Innovation and Universities (MICIU) announced.
MSIU added that the ship will use an unmanned underwater remotely operated vehicle (ROV) that can explore difficult-to-access areas of the ocean floor to map the ocean floor and create detailed images.
The Spanish National Research Council (CSIC), a division of MICIU, mobilized the vessel from CSIC's Spanish Institute of Oceanography (IEO-CSIC).
“Our only goal is to work together to respond to this tragedy,” Science, Innovation and Universities Minister Diana Morant said Thursday. Post to X It was accompanied by a video of vehicle debris bobbing in the torrent of mudflow. (Related: Flood survivors jeer, throw mud, objects thrown at king and queen, officials investigating devastation)
To prepare the Bordo of Ramon Margalef del @IEOceanografia–#CSIC Deal with emergencies for DANA emergencies in Costa, Valencia. pic.twitter.com/yZ2VBBB94d
— CSIC (@CSIC) November 8, 2024
Spanish authorities hope Ramon Margalef will be able to find sunken vehicles — some of the many vehicles turned into death traps in the floods that began Oct. 29, Associated Press reported.
“It's like finding a needle in a haystack,” Pablo Carrera, 60, told The Associated Press about the search without proper mapping of the ocean floor. Carrera, a marine biologist, leads this effort and serves as head of IEO-CSIC's research fleet.
Carrera told The Associated Press that it was doubtful that human remains would be found at sea, adding that the search would focus on larger objects not normally found at sea. Carrera added that the ROV will try to find the license plate and take a photo, despite poor visibility and the possibility that the vehicle may already be dismembered or buried in mud.
More than 200 people have been killed and nearly 100 are missing, according to the Associated Press. Officials said additional people may not have been recorded.
A delegation led by Spain's king and prime minister was heckled today, with some shouting “assassins” and others throwing mud at them, during a visit to the deadly flood-hit Valencia region, an AFP reporter at the scene said. It is said that there were also King Felipe VI and Queen Letizia, together with Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez and other officials, visited Paiporta, one of the towns worst affected by the floods that killed more than 200 people. (Photo by MANAURE QUIINTERO/AFP via Getty Images)
According to the ministry, Ramon Margalev's reassignment is the latest effort by MICIU through CSIC to respond to the floods. CSIC was already assisting in the interpretation of satellite images of the affected areas and Geographic Information System data produced by the European Union's Copernicus Earth Observation Program.
European Space Agency (ESA) manages Copernicus shared satellite images Affected areas in southern and eastern Spain. The images reveal the extreme changes Valencia has witnessed, especially since a late October storm caused murky waters from the river, damaging homes and sweeping cars off at least one bridge.
CSIC and other researchers were on the ground assessing the extent of the damage. Separately said.
Spain's Interior Ministry has also requested 100 high-capacity pumps and 50 technical experts to support Valencia, the ministry's Directorate General for Civil Protection and Emergencies. said Friday.
