Tragedy where a retired British couple are found dead in their car after being caught in the devastating Valencia floods following a tragic last phone call to their daughter

A British couple who went missing during the devastating floods in Spain have been found dead in their car, their heartbroken family have revealed.

Terry and Don Turner, aged 74 and 78, had not been seen since heavy rain hit Valencia on Tuesday.

The couple’s daughter, Ruth O’Loughlin, from Burntwood, Staffordshire, today said her parents’ bodies were found in their car on Saturday.

Friends of the retired ex-pats said Terry told them they were “going out” to get some gas on Tuesday.

Later, they went to check the pensioners’ bungalow to see if they had managed to get home before the deadly floods reached their land.

‘Friends had been sniffing around there because they hadn’t heard from mum and dad, the key was in the door, they were able to get into the property, the dogs were there and the car is gone, so they know mum and dad haven’t come back’ , she said last week.

Don Turner, 78, had moved to Spain with his wife

Ms O’Loughlin previously told the newspaper BBC that her parents had moved to Spain about ten years ago because they ‘always wanted to live in the sun’.

They were popular in their community and had ‘nice friends around them’, but as they got older they considered moving back to Britain.

Mrs O’Loughlin said she last spoke to her mother on Monday, the day before the floods hit, and said she had ‘complained about the rain’.

‘She said they wanted to do some work on the house so they could put it up for sale, but it rains a lot.

“We were talking about mom and dad coming over here next year to spend some time with us and we just ended the conversation and I’m really glad I said ‘I love you’ and she said she did too loves me.’

When news of the horrific flooding emerged the next day, Mrs O’Loughlin said he desperately tried to reach her mother and father but never heard from them again.

More than 200 people have been confirmed dead in the disaster, which amounts to Spain’s deadliest natural disaster in living memory.

Rescuers continue their grim search for cars and underground garages where it is feared dozens more bodies could be found.

Nearly all the deaths occurred in the Valencia region, where thousands of security and emergency services frantically cleared rubble and mud in search of bodies.

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez has said it was the second deadliest flood in Europe this century.

His government and the Valencia regional government have faced anger over what many see as their mismanagement of the crisis.

Vehicles are piling up in the streets caused by the storm late Tuesday and early Wednesday that left hundreds dead or missing in Alfafar, Valencia

A look at demolition work on a damaged house after flash flooding in Letur, Albacete province, Spain

A crowd of angry survivors threw mud and shouted insults at King Felipe VI and Queen Letizia, as well as government officials, as they made their first visit to one of the worst-hit cities on Sunday.

Angry residents of Paiporta shout during the visit of King Felipe VI of Spain to this city, in the Valencia region, eastern Spain, on November 3, 2024

Queen Letizia was seen with mud stains on her face

The storm and floods have left a carnage in their wake and a massive clean-up operation is currently underway

Floods had already begun to fill Paiporta with crashing waves when regional officials issued a warning on cellphones two hours late on Tuesday.

And even more anger has been fueled by officials’ inability to respond quickly in the aftermath.

Most of the clearing of the layers of mud and debris that have invaded scores of homes has been carried out by residents and thousands of volunteers.