Flash Flood Kills 71 at Spanish Camp
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BIESCAS, Spain — Flash floods raced through a Pyrenees mountains campground jammed with hundreds of vacationers, carrying away cars, tents and campers in rivers of mud and debris. At least 71 people died.
Hundreds of divers, firefighters and other rescue workers moved into the area Thursday to search for survivors. Officials said about 40 people were still missing by evening.
About 180 people were treated for injuries.
Police said about 650 people, mostly Spaniards, were at the Virgen de las Nieves (Virgin of the Snows) campsite near Biescas, a tiny mountain town 15 miles from the French border, when the flooding began Wednesday night.
Light rains suddenly turned torrential, engulfing the campground within seconds in an avalanche of mud and rocks. Vehicles were carried as far as 1,000 yards, and one body was dragged 10 miles downstream.
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