Body found in car swept away by flooded stream

Firefighters have found the body of a man inside a car that was swept away by a swollen stream in the village of Palau-sator, Baix Empordà county, 30km east of Girona. 

The vehicle was located at around 8.30pm on Tuesday in a hard-to-reach area after hours of searching, but rescuers had to wait for water levels to fall before they could inspect the interior. The stream had surged after a full day of heavy rain.

The body has not yet been formally identified, but it is believed to be the driver who had been reported missing earlier in the day.

Emergency crews maintained a search operation along the riverbank as the flow gradually eased. As the water level dropped, the roof of the submerged vehicle became visible, allowing firefighters to confirm the presence of a body inside.

Search efforts on land had been suspended in the morning because of the height and speed of the water, which made conditions too dangerous for rescue teams.

Firefighters have responded to 1,300 incidents due to the intense eastern storm, with the Girona area hardest hit.

Train driver killed

One person died and 37 were injured after a train collided with a retaining wall that fell on the track in Gelida, outside Barcelona, on Tuesday evening.

The deceased was a student train driver who was travelling in the driver's cabin, police confirmed.

The entire Rodalies de Catalunya rail service is suspended on Wednesday, with no trains running.

Spain's transport minister, Óscar Puente, said that the train derailment had "nothing to do with the rail service" and was caused by the adverse weather conditions.

The minister's comments come after a high-speed train collision near Adamuz in Andalusia on Sunday killed at least 42 people and left many more injured in one of Spain's worst rail disasters in years.