Young Catalan woman drowns in floods

A YOUNG woman died on Saturday (November 26) after her sat-nav system directed her to cross a usually dried-up river bed in Sant Llorenç d’Hortons, Cataluña.

The 20-year-old and her boyfriend were on their way to a family party when the system sent them towards the stream. Although the ford had filled with water during the torrential rains registered across Spain at the weekend, the couple decided to risk trying to cross, with fatal results.

The car engine cut out and the vehicle stopped half way across and water began to seep into the car, leading the pair to decide to try and escape. While the 19-year-old man managed to get free by clinging to overhanging tree branches, the woman was swept away by the current.

A search party including more than 60 emergency service team members scoured the area, finding the woman’s body two days later under a bridge in Martorell, 11-5 kilometres downstream from the site of the tragic incident.