A judge of Court of Instance No. 3 in Catarroja has raised the official number of people killed in the Valencia floods of October 29, 2024, to 234.
The latest victim recognised by the judge was a 73-year-old resident of Paiporta. He was injured when his home flooded and died on November 26 at Valencia General Hospital from infectious endocarditis.
The judge based the ruling on a forensic medical report and testimony from the man's children, given at the request of the public prosecutor's office. The investigating judge said contact with contaminated surfaces was the key factor linking the floods to his death: a wound on his foot may have provided an entry point for the infection.
The man's children told the court that water entered their father's house to a depth of 1.70 metres and that he sustained a foot injury. In the following days, they saw his toes swell and turn purplish.
He was admitted to hospital on November 18, five days after developing diarrhoea, vomiting and a fever. He died on November 26.
The forensic report said it was not possible to establish a single, direct causal link between the E Faecalis infection that caused the endocarditis and the events of October 29. It also noted that a foot wound could have been a possible route for infection if it came into contact with contaminated surfaces.
After considering the medical report alongside the family's testimony, the judge concluded that the floods were causally connected to the man's death and ordered that he be included in the judicial investigation.
