Spain deploys 15,000 police and troops to help flood relief – as vigilante protection groups patrol streets

For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Please try again later {{ /verifyErrors }} Spain’s prime minister Pedro Sanchez has said nearly 15,000 troops and police have been deployed to help the cities and towns affected by Spain’s deadliest flooding disaster in recent history. “People have already lost enough.” Speaking at a press conference in Madrid on Tuesday, Mr Sanchez paid tribute to the work of the national police and civil guard. Criticism of the authorities’ disaster response is continuing, with Mr Sanchez’s ruling Socialist Party and the conservative Popular Party – which governs the Valencia region – involved in a blame game over who is accountable for inadequate flood warnings and who holds responsibility for managing emergency operations. He told a press conference: “The first vaccinations are already being given to volunteers and neighbours.” Elsewhere, emergency services discovered human remains in Letur, near Albacete in the Castilla-La Mancha region, where five people have been missing since last week’s floods.