By Susana Vera and Raul Cadenas
PAIPORTA, Spain (Reuters) -Spain sent more soldiers to its flood-hit east where rescuers searched for more bodies and anger spread on Monday over the official handling of a disaster that has killed at least 217 people.
The army sent about 5,000 soldiers over the weekend to help distribute food and water, clean up streets and guard against looters. A further 2,500 would join them, Defence Minister Margarita Robles told state-owned radio RNE.
A warship carrying 104 marine infantry soldiers as well as trucks with food and water was approaching Valencia port even as a strong hailstorm pummelled Barcelona some 300 km (186 miles) to the north. An alert from regional authorities warned of potential landslides and more flooding.
Airport operator AENA said about 50 flights due to take off from Barcelona’s partially flooded El Prat airport were cancelled or severely delayed, while 17 due to land there were diverted. Some local train services were also cancelled.
Fatalities from Spain’s worst flash floods in modern history edged higher to 217 on Sunday, almost all of them in the Valencia region and more than 60 in the suburb of Paiporta.
Rescuers used drones and water pumps to search and clear underground carparks and garages. They also scanned river mouths where currents may have deposited more bodies.
“With these drones we can send them inside the garages and have a first visual of what’s going on,” police spokesperson Ricardo Gutierrez said.
Locals criticised late alerts from authorities about the dangers and a perceived delayed response by emergency services.
On Sunday, some residents in Paiporta slung mud at Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez and King Felipe and his wife Queen Letizia, chanting: “murderers, murderers!”
Photos showed Sanchez’s official car with broken windows.
The prime minister was also struck during the protests, Interior Minister Fernando Grande-Marlaska said in an interview on TVE, blaming a handful for the trouble.
“The majority of people gathered are absolutely peaceful people who have lost everything and whose anger we evidently understand,” Grande-Marlaska said.
PROTESTS
Some protesters on Sunday in the Valencia region wore clothing with far-right symbols.
Unions and left-wing cultural associations have announced a protest in Valencia on Saturday to call for regional president Carlos Mazon, of the conservative People’s Party, to step down.
A daily protest in Madrid outside the headquarters of Sanchez’s Socialist party drew more people on Sunday, about 600, due to anger over the floods, according to El Pais newspaper.
Opposition politicians accused the left-wing central government of acting too slowly to warn residents and send in rescuers, while Madrid has said regional authorities were responsible for civil protection.
The anger vented against all sides reflects a general disillusionment with the political class, analysts at Eurointelligence wrote in a note on Monday. “If the aftermath turns into a big finger-pointing exercise, it will probably deepen that anti-politics sentiment,” it said.
Lack of clarity over numbers of dead and missing has added to frustration. A landline has been set up for relatives to report the missing, with the government saying “dozens and dozens” are still unaccounted for.
Coroner services on Sunday said 183 autopsies had been performed, and 67 people identified.
The midweek torrential rains caused rivers to swell, engulfing streets and ground floors of buildings, and sweeping away cars and masonry in tides of mud.
Sonia Luque, coordinator of the Network of Road Assistance Companies (REAC), said more than 100,000 cars were damaged.
It was the worst flood-related disaster in Europe in five decades. Scientists say extreme weather is more frequent due to climate change. Meteorologists think the warming of the Mediterranean, which increases water evaporation, plays a key role in making torrential rains more severe.
(Reporting by Inti Landauro, Susana Vera, Raul Cardenas and David Latona; additional reporting by Emma Pinedo and Joan Faus; Writing by Charlie Devereux; Editing by Andrew Cawthorne)
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