Killer heat

Relief imminent as temperatures set to fall

Nine people have died in Spain from heatstroke following the surge in temperatures last week.

NINE people have died in Spain from heatstroke following the surge in temperatures last week.

Two of the fatalities occurred in Murcia region.

The first of the victims collapsed last Tuesday while he was working on the construction of the Murcia city motorway ring-road.

The 48-year-old man was taken to hospital but doctors were unable to save his life and he passed away in the early hours of the following day

In the second incident a 78year-old man died last Friday after suffering heatstroke while he was working on farmland at his rural property outside Murcia city in temperatures which reached 38ºC.

According to the emergency services, the pensioner fainted and was taken to Morales Meseguer hospital but died soon afterwards.

Alicante province was placed on yellow alert for hot weather on Sunday and Monday, where the mercury. reached 38ºC on Sunday in Orihuela city and 36ºC in Torrevieja.

Tens of thousands of people flocked to the beaches of the Costa Blanca and Murcia to try to escape the heat and cool off with a dip in the sea.

With overnight ‘lows’ of 29ºC in Benidorm and 28ºC in Torrevieja on Sunday/Monday, many people were unable to sleep in the stifling conditions.

However, relief is at hand, according to state weather agency AEMET.

Today (Friday) they give 100% probability of rain in Benidorm and 80% in Torrevieja, with temperatures set to fall to 29ºC and 30ºC in the towns respectively.

Tomorrow (Saturday) there is also a high probability of rain during the morning, with temperatures in both municipalities set to remain the same.

Night-time temperatures are also forecasted to fall.