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We were swept away by a flash flood

Maria Gonzales and Jonathon Lobb had just set out on their summer holiday when they were caught up in a terrific storm

1		Even now, Maria			Catholic, he urged Maria
		Gonzales has a sense			to keep praying. “I'd
		of panic whenever it		45	survived two near-death
		rains. The sound of			experiences,” he says.
	5	raindrops splashing on to a			“Being run over at 17,
		window takes her back to last			and a major car accident
		year’s holiday in Spain, where			three years ago. I knew
		a flash flood nearly drowned		50	I’d been lucky to pull
		her and her fiancé Jonathon			through that time and I
	10	Lobb.			wasn’t prepared to die
2		It was the second day of			on this holiday.”
		the couple’s three-week	7		Incredibly, the
		break. They had just left		55	couple’s prayers were
		Biescas, a town in the			answered. Their car

	15	Pyrenees, where they’d had a relaxing day in			landed the right way up on a rock, halfway
		the sun when disaster struck. “In less than no			down the mountain - a mile from where
		time the weather changed from brilliant			they’d parked.
		sunshine to heavy rain,” says Maria, a 27-year-	8	60	“My first feeling was of disbelief that we’d
		old business studies student. “The sky went			survived,” says Maria. “The next moment,
	20	black and thunder came crashing all around			someone banged on the car door and I turned
		us.”			to see a naked man yelling at us.” She soon
3		After 20 minutes of extremely heavy rain,			realised that most of the people caught in the
		Jonathon was driving the car very slowly as he		65	flood were naked, too. Their clothes had been
		could hardly see. “We can’t continue like			ripped off by the water. The man begging for
	25	this,” said Maria. “It’s dangerous. Let’s park			help was desperate to save his wife, who was
		over at the campsite and wait for the storm to			trapped in an overturned car.
		pass.”	9		Jonathon ran to help while Maria handed
4		“The flood was rising so fast,” she		70	out clothes to all the naked campers who’d
		explained. “In no time, it was almost up as			had everything washed away. “Even in their
	30	high as my car window. And there was a			distress, the campers were thinking of people
		strong current. It was obvious that we were			who might be worse off,” says Maria. “We all
		about to be washed away. There was no way			went down to the river to try to save the
		out.” And, sure enough, the car started to		75	campers who’d been washed in ... and I
		shift and, within seconds, it was lifted up and			realised that people were drowning.”
	35	dragged into a wild flow of water.			Tragically, there was nothing anyone could do.
5		Maria shut her eyes and waited for the			Going into the flood meant certain death.
		bang. “I knew already that there was a long	10		Altogether, 80 campers drowned in the
		way to fall - we were high in the mountains,”		80	tragedy. “I’m not sure that it’s sunk in,” says
		she says. “All I could think about were my			Maria back home. “Until I saw the news, I
	40	parents - how would they feel? We were too			couldn’t really believe that anyone had died. It
		young to die.”			could have been us. We were so lucky and I
6		Jonathon wasn’t ready to die, either. Being			thank God to be alive.”

Anna Clements, ‘Woman’s Own’, Summer special 1997