“Hundreds of workers are stuck in Bonaire,” wrote an employee of the largest shopping center in the Valencian Community, on the fateful night of October 29. located in Aldaya town and that five days later it is one of the epicenters of the tragedy caused by DANA, where emergency services and the army are still trying to access the search for victims stuck in the parking lot.
This Tuesday evening, as the disaster began to take shape, the hundreds of afternoon workers Dozens of stores and restaurants in the shopping complex were unable to return to their homes.
As always happens in these cases, between the intrinsic need of human beings to communicate, the desperation and the impulse to shout to the world what is happening, many of them They reported it via social media the nightmare they were living.
Fortunately, all employees of the center are fine, as direct sources from Bonaire confirmed to ABC, but fear was their main companion on Tuesday evening when water flooded the entire ground floor and completely covered the underground parking.
“I didn’t think my work day today would end like this: eating a small pot of pasta with donuts for dinner, taking turns with the charger and sleeping in cinemas», wrote Paula on her X account from her work.
In fact, the multiplex cinemas that Cinesa owns in the fifth largest shopping center in Spain have served as a refuge for all those who were left there with no way out.
Video: the state of the interior of the Bonaire shopping center after the DANA attack
Others, around 8 p.m., when the water was already beginning to invade everything, managed to access their car and leavebut the scenes were beginning to be devastating and dangerous.
Decathlon Center Clothing
The uncertainty was great, it was no longer raining but it was impossible to move. Everything was water, mud, products from all the stores sailing in this lake of mud. It is in these moments that we see the solidarity of our loved ones, as Mireia, another trapped worker, details on her networks:
“Thank to Decathlon workers at the Bonaire Shopping Center They spent the whole night trying to shelter us. When we managed to get in, they offered us clothes and shoes to stay dry as well as all the food and drinks they had,” he wrote, before concluding his message with a “I owe you my life “.
Thanks to the Decathlon employees at the Bonaire mall who spent the whole night trying to get us in to protect us.
When we managed to get in, they offered us clothes and shoes to stay dry as well as all the food and drinks they had.
I owe you my life ❤️🩹 pic.twitter.com/xzNeQl9hJY— Mireia 🌻 (@_mireialopez_) November 2, 2024
Five days after the disaster, the extent of the consequences of the shopping center tragedy is still incalculable. The EMU, the Police and the Fire Brigade work against the clock at the entrances to the underground car park to evacuate the water and finally gain access to see what scenario they find.
The hope is that, given the weather conditions of this Black Tuesday, In the afternoon, traffic was not very intense on Bonaire. But the fear that there will be victims who lose their lives trying to get their cars out of the parking lot is real and the new rains are slowing down the work. The night of terror in the shopping center has continued since Tuesday without reaching dawn.
