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Brit expat survives brush with death in flooded lift
| Published: | 8 Dec at 6 PM |
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A British expat stuck in a flooded lift during last weekend’s devastating Costa del Sol storms believed his life was over until his dramatic rescue.
UK expat Dan Dawson found himself in a nightmare scenario when the lift he’d taken during the storm began to flood. When the massive storm broke he’d headed for the basement to rescue his son’s Christmas presents without realising the speed of the rising water. As the lift approached the basement, it began to fill with water, rising to level with his chest within two terrifying minutes.
Panicking, Dan though his last moments had come. Hearing his screams, his partner Sylina and his neighbours desperately tried to prise off the lift’s roof, totally without success. With the water still rising, Don kept hitting the ‘up’ button until the lift slowly scraped up half a story, giving him just enough air room to breathe. Spanish police armed with crowbars arrived post haste and managed to open the lift and rescue Dan after two hours of effort.
Soaking wet and overjoyed to be alive, the former Derby resident had just one stroke of bad luck when he realised his car had been wrecked when the basement garage flooded during the worst rainstorms for a quarter of a century. Many towns in the region were declared as disaster zones, with roads cut off and residents forced to leave their homes. The freak flash floods inundated many of southern Spain’s favourite expat hubs and tourist resorts along the Costa del Sol, leaving residents and visitors stunned and homeless.
Total rain over the weekend was equivalent to an entire month’s fall, and took many communities by surprise. Damage to property in Malaga and its surrounding towns was extensive, and at least one person died after being trapped in a basement nightclub as the waters rose.
UK expat Dan Dawson found himself in a nightmare scenario when the lift he’d taken during the storm began to flood. When the massive storm broke he’d headed for the basement to rescue his son’s Christmas presents without realising the speed of the rising water. As the lift approached the basement, it began to fill with water, rising to level with his chest within two terrifying minutes.
Panicking, Dan though his last moments had come. Hearing his screams, his partner Sylina and his neighbours desperately tried to prise off the lift’s roof, totally without success. With the water still rising, Don kept hitting the ‘up’ button until the lift slowly scraped up half a story, giving him just enough air room to breathe. Spanish police armed with crowbars arrived post haste and managed to open the lift and rescue Dan after two hours of effort.
Soaking wet and overjoyed to be alive, the former Derby resident had just one stroke of bad luck when he realised his car had been wrecked when the basement garage flooded during the worst rainstorms for a quarter of a century. Many towns in the region were declared as disaster zones, with roads cut off and residents forced to leave their homes. The freak flash floods inundated many of southern Spain’s favourite expat hubs and tourist resorts along the Costa del Sol, leaving residents and visitors stunned and homeless.
Total rain over the weekend was equivalent to an entire month’s fall, and took many communities by surprise. Damage to property in Malaga and its surrounding towns was extensive, and at least one person died after being trapped in a basement nightclub as the waters rose.
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