THIS is the shocking moment a rescue chopper had to airlift a trapped motorist to safety after her car got stuck in a swollen river.
Dramatic footage shows the rescue operation in Murcia as the southeast Spain region was hit by severe storms on Wednesday.
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The driver had alerted the firefighters that her motor got stuck in the mud as the road was swamped by flood water.
The rescuers dispatched three vehicles and a helicopter to the scene to save the woman with reduced mobility.
In the clip, the emergency workers can be seen working against the clock to stop the motor from being swept away by the raging river.
They can be seen cutting through the fabric of the Mercedes rooftop before removing it completely and pulling the woman out.
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The chopper then hoisted the trapped driver to safety while an ambulance waited for her on the roadside.
The motorist was confirmed to be in perfect condition following the terrifying ordeal.
It comes as Murcia and Majorca have been experiencing downpour for 48 hours which saw roads turn into swirling rivers of brown water.
In Murcia, cars became stranded in the sodden streets while garbage bins floated down the road as storms continued into Wednesday.
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In one video, a fire truck pulled up to a white car to rescue a family from the swirling river.
Some footage showed a red car being pulled down a rapid of floods on a residential street.
Spain’s emergency service number, 112, was inundated with over 200 calls in just one hour from those affected.
The mayor of Molina de Segura, a town in Murcia, declared an emergency as workers tried to contain the damage.
Aemet, the state meteorological body, raised its weather warning for rain and storms to orange yesterday in several areas of Murcia and Majorca.
The flooding began to ease around 7pm, according to reports.
On Tuesday, flights at Palma de Majorca Airport were axed when the popular British hotspot island was hit with heavy floods.
Dramatic pictures showed the jets grounded on the drowned tarmac.
Others showed passengers inside the terminal trying to take cover as water leaked from the ceiling.
Holidaymakers were left stranded after the cancellation or diversion of the 100 planes due to land or take off from the airport that day.
Air traffic controllers at the airport said the freak weather had left pilots facing almost “zero visibility” when they came in to land.
In one nerve-wracking clip, the pilot of a packed passenger jet aborts his landing during the storm.
He was a split-second from touching down on the sodden tarmac when he decided instead to head back towards the skies for the safety of those on board.
An onlooker thought to be an airport worker could be overheard saying in Spanish: “He’s terrified, he’s s**t his pants,” as he witnessed the pilot’s last-minute change of heart.
The airport officials said they had to activate its “emergency plan” after 3.5inches of water fell in less than an hour.
Floods have also hit other holiday hotspots in Costa Blanca, including Benidorm, Valencia and Alicante.
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Spain is still gripping with the aftermath of the storm as clean-up operations were continuing today.
Meanwhile, in Magaluf, British tourists headed back to the beaches after the rain was replaced by sunshine and clear skies.
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Source: Sun
