A woman filmed being swept away by a torrent of water in one of the most viral videos so far following the flooding tragedy in Spain is alive and has spoken of her “horror story.”
With a smile in her first interview on Canal Sur, Conchi Serrano stated: “I have lived a true horror story and it is a miracle that I am alive.”
But she owes it all to a brave local named Nicolas, who jumped into the water to save her, she said.
‘What you see in the video is when I let go of the tree I was clinging to and the water drags me and that’s when a man appears who is clinging to some railings on a property on the ground floor and throws the water to try to save me .
‘Fate wanted me to have a jacket and with the jacket he grabbed me and said: ‘Hold on to me, hug me, stay calm, stay calm’ while I was struggling to breathe.’
A woman filmed being swept away by a torrent of water in one of the most viral videos so far following the flooding tragedy in Spain is alive and has spoken about her ‘horror story’
Conchi Serrano said: ‘I have lived a true horror story and it is a miracle that I am alive’
Conchi, who despite her near-death experience was physically unharmed, said that once the man came to her rescue, the couple ended up outside the door of an apartment block.
He explained that as the water got higher and higher, they tried to get in where they knew they would be safe, but the doorbell wasn’t working due to power outages in the area.
“I was shouting ‘Bring a hammer’ but they couldn’t do anything. There when we were staring death in the face, the pressure of the water forced the door to open and that saved us.
“But there was another problem: the elevator on the ground floor was filling with water and if you collapsed and fell into the elevator, you were going to die.
‘They dragged me towards the elevator as if they were throwing me down a toilet and that man grabbed me by the jacket again shouting ‘No, not in the elevator, you’re going to die, hold on, hold on, hold on’ to the railings of the stairs. “
‘The railings gave way and my rescuer was on the stairs trying with all his might to drag me back to where he was as I was dragged towards the lift by the force of the water.
‘Another man who lived on the block rushed to help him and since I don’t weigh much, they were able to get me to safety.
‘That’s why I’m here today to tell my story. They took me to one of the floors and calmed me down and dried my clothes and gave me blankets and let me call my partner to tell him I was okay.
People clean a mud covered street next to piled up cars after heavy rain in Alfafar, Valencia, Spain, November
Members of the fire brigade, who are part of a search and rescue unit, carry out work as cars and debris block a tunnel after the recent flash flood in the nearby municipality of Benetusser on November 1.
People walk through the flooded streets of Valencia
‘I spent most of the night there until the water level went down and I was able to get out.
‘I told the man who had saved my life, who I only know is called Nicolás, that I owed him my life and that I wanted to keep in touch with him.
“We didn’t exchange phone numbers, but I know he lives near me, but it’s a big city and we didn’t know each other.”
“But a woman in the apartment block who gave me dry clothes and let us use her cell phone to call our loved ones to let them know we were okay, will have her people’s numbers in her call history.
‘When I return to his house to return his clothes I will ask for his number and thank again the other man who saved my life.
‘Nicolas was the one who fought and fought against the water with me.’
Explaining why he ended up in the water, Conchi said: “I had come home from work and I heard people screaming and a lot of noise and cars turning in the wrong direction.
‘People shouted: ‘Water is coming’ and moved their vehicles.
A woman watches from her balcony as vehicles are trapped in the street during floods in Valencia
‘I thought about my truck that was parked a short distance from my house and decided to go check it, never imagining that a furious torrent of water would come.
‘The pavement was dry but when I wanted to cross the street to get to my truck I realized I would have to get wet.
‘I had never seen a torrent of water like the one that came and did not appreciate the seriousness of the situation.
‘That’s when I saw my savior Nicholas for the first time and asked him what was happening.
‘He warned me not to move the truck and said it was fine there because my idea was to drive it uphill and I was seeing people moving their cars.
‘I just went to the van to have a look and started calling people. While I was talking to my dad, I saw water coming up over the wheels of the truck and decided I was just going to park it on the sidewalk.
‘In my ignorance and not knowing what was happening elsewhere or what was going to happen, I kept making calls to people and got distracted.
‘Suddenly water started to enter the vehicle and I got out with difficulty. I still didn’t appreciate the seriousness of the situation and I spent some time keeping the car documents inside my blouse so they wouldn’t get wet and that’s when I got carried away by the water.
‘I managed to grab hold of a tree and I was screaming for help and people were throwing sheets and ladders at me, but it was impossible.
“Then the cars started running towards me at full speed while being swept away by the water.
“If I had been hit by a car it would have been the end of me and they came very close.”
María, Conchi’s older sister, who was also interviewed on the same program, said breaking down into tears: “When I saw the video I knew immediately that it was my sister.
‘I know a lot of viewers will know what I’m saying because when you have a sister or a child that you love so much, you know it and it was real.
‘I feel so sorry for the people who have lost their loved ones. I am blessed to be able to say that my sister is safe, my family is safe and healthy.
“Everything else, money, work, I don’t care when it comes to that.”
