Spain’s King Felipe VI, Queen Letizia, and Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez faced an angry crowd that threw mud and chanted, “Murderers, murderers!” during a visit to flood-stricken Paiporta, near Valencia, on Nov. 3.
As of Sunday, the overall death toll from the Oct. 29 flash flooding in Spain stands at 217, with sixty people having died in Paiporta alone.
Spain’s national broadcaster RTVE said a few rocks were among the barrage of missiles hurled at the VIPs.
Bodyguards protected the royal couple with umbrellas. Two bodyguards were treated for injuries.
Police, including some officers on horseback, waded in to control the crowd, some of whom were wielding shovels and poles.
Queen Letizia, who had earlier spoken to some of the affected residents, was visibly shaken.
Later on Sunday, King Felipe visited the command post of the emergency response effort, and told those present they had to give “hope to those affected by the flood and attend to their needs, guaranteeing that the state is there for them.”
Shops and supermarkets in Paiporta, a town of 30,000 people, are in ruins and many city blocks are clogged with piles of vehicles, debris, and a thick layer of mud.
In the wake of the flooding deaths, there has also been anger over the lateness of emergency alerts sent out on Oct. 29.
The central government said the alerts were the responsibility of Valencia’s regional government, which has said it did the best it could with the information available.
Sanchez said on Saturday that allegations of negligence will be investigated and called for political unity.
Defence Minister Margarita Robles told state-owned radio RNE on Monday, the government was deploying an extra 2,500 troops to the region, to work alongside 5,000 soldiers who are already working to clean up the aftermath of the floods.
Robles said some extremist groups were trying to take political advantage of the situation to criticize the socialist government.
A warship carrying 104 marine infantry soldiers and trucks of food and water is due to arrive in Valencia on Monday.
Rescue teams are still searching for bodies in underground garages, including one at the Bonaire shopping mall near Valencia airport, which has a 5,000-vehicle car park.
The floods inundated the lower floors of homes and other buildings and swept away cars and other vehicles.
It is Europe’s worst flood-related disaster since 1967 when at least 500 people died in Portugal.
