Corsica flash flood kills couple, daughter rescued, Digi Mart USA News (Corsica, France): A married couple died overnight on the French island of Corsica after their car was swept away by floodwaters caused by heavy rainfall, according to local authorities. Their daughter was rescued from the vehicle and later transported to a hospital by helicopter.
The car got into trouble around 1:00 a.m. on the RT10, the main road along the island’s east coast between Bonifacio and Porto-Vecchio.
According to the local outlet Corse Matin, the occupants were traveling from the Figari airport to their home in Porto-Vecchio. The parents had driven to the airport to pick up their daughter, who was visiting them, a spokesperson for the mayor of Porto-Vecchio said.
The spokesperson also noted that the mother was celebrating her birthday.
After the car was swept into the water on the return trip, rescue workers, including a diver, reached the vehicle and freed the 40-year-old daughter. Help arrived too late for her parents, who were found dead inside the car.
A firefighter involved in the rescue operation was taken to hospital for symptoms of hypothermia.
Mayor Angelini of Porto-Vecchio said the loss has deeply affected the island. “We are shocked and deeply saddened.” Interior Minister Nuñez wrote on social media that many emergency operations were carried out the previous day.
The newspaper Le Parisien reported that 43 rescue operations were conducted in southern Corsica, in which 32 people were saved.
Corsica has been hit since Wednesday by a so-called Mediterranean rain front, in which warm, moist air from the Mediterranean Sea is pushed against the island’s mountains. This can produce a large amount of rain in a short time, leading to flooding.
Storms in the southern French departments of Hérault and Gard also caused flooded streets and roads.
