A former Valencia player has tragically been killed in the recent floods in Spain.
The country has been rocked by the disaster, with 158 dead so far and many fearing those numbers will continue to rise in the coming days, with the army called into assist.
Emergency teams are carrying out house by house searches in the worst-hit Valencia region in eastern Spain with officials fearful the death toll is likely to rise.
It comes after Buildings and bridges were swept away while towns became submerged in a muddy deluge with overturned cars scattered in the streets after more than a year’s worth of rain fell in just eight hours earlier this week.
And among the casualties so far was footballer Jose Castillejo, who was 28 and had played for a number of clubs in his home country, including the LaLiga giants.
Ex-Valencia footballer Jose Castillejo, 28, has died in Spain floods that have rocked the country
Aerial shot shows mud-stained roads near Valencia covered in wrecked cars and other debris
‘We regret the death of Jose Castillejo, a victim of the Dana disasters,’ Valencia said in a statement.
‘He was part of the club’s Academy until his youth stage and has played for several teams in the Valencian Community. RIP.’
Eldense, meanwhile, who Castillejo played for between January and August 2016, added: ‘We deeply regret Jose Castillejo’s passing at 28, a former blue-and-red player in the 2015/2016 season. We extend our heartfelt condolences to his family and friends.’
Having played in the Valencia academy, Castillejo, who was a midfielder, also featured for the likes of Paterna, CD Bunol, Recam Colon and Torre Levante.
On Wednesday, Spain Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez warned residents to stay at home as he raised the official crisis level, warning ‘this phenomenon has not finished’.
The Valencia region was hit hardest with 92 people killed between late Tuesday and Wednesday morning.
Parts of the region in eastern Spain were deluged by more than a year’s worth of rain in just eight hours on Tuesday causing monstrous flash floods.
The torrents of water destroyed whole villages and an unknown number of people are still missing.
Thousands of people were left without water and electricity and hundreds were stranded after their cars were wrecked or roads were blocked.
Aerial photographs have revealed the apocalyptic scale of destruction caused by the floods
People stand next to stranded cars, following floods in Valencia, Spain, October 31, 2024
A woman looks at a mud-covered road and ruined houses in the flood-hit municipality of Chiva
Scientists have linked the disaster to climate change, which is also behind increasingly high temperatures and droughts in Spain and the heating up of the Mediterranean Sea.
Walls of rushing water turned narrow streets into death traps and spawned rivers that ripped into the ground floors of homes and swept away everything in its path.
The aftermath, which has seen streets piled high with vehicles and water streaming down usually busy roads, looks eerily similar to the damage left by a strong hurricane or tsunami.
Wrecked vehicles, tree branches, downed power lines and household items all covered in a layer of mud covered the streets of Utiel, just one of dozens of towns in the hard-hit region.
