Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez and King Felipe VI were at the receiving end of sharp protests during the visit to the flood-hit areas on Sunday when distraught residents hurled mud and accused them of being “assassins.
The visit, accompanied by Prime Minister Sanchez and other regional officials, marked the royal trip to Paiporta, one of the towns most drenched by the destructive floods, which have claimed the lives of more than 200 people.
King Felipe VI and Queen Letizia were received in a tense atmosphere. The angry crowd cried mainly against Sanchez and Carlos Mazon, the head of the Valencia region. Expressions such as “Mazon resign!” and “How many deaths?! Out!” resonated down the streets.
Demonstrations became increasingly violent when mud and other debris were slung by local citizens and volunteers at the King, who was protecting himself under the umbrellas of security personnel. Sanchez was reportedly forced to be taken away from the scene as the group made his way through the mud-filled streets of Paiporta, where over 60 people died and thousands of people were traumatized.
King Felipe VI, meanwhile, braved the chaos and addressed locals of the area, mud splatters freckling his face. One telling snapshot was of him comforting a would-be sobbing woman into his shoulder and shaking hands with the residents.
In that vein, Queen Letizia and Mazon mingled with the women in the community; one frazzled woman was overheard saying, “We don’t have any water.”
The recent floods rank among the deadliest natural disasters to hit Spain in recent memory, with over 200 people dead and dozens missing. The tragedy surged through Paiporta in torrential waves, while a mobile alert from regional authorities came two hours too late to avoid the panic.
The slow response from the authorities has further enflamed public outrage, as much of the cleanup was being done by residents and volunteers working nonstop to remove vast amounts of mud and debris that inundated scores of homes.
