Three dog teams, a head search and a specialist in technical localisation support the local forces in the Valencia region in the search for missing people.

Sunday, 24th november 24

After three days, the REDOG search dog team returned safe and sound today. The days were labour-intensive, characterised by good cooperation within the team as well as with the partner organisations. Once again, it became clear how important personal contacts and joint training with partners are in order to work together optimally in an emergency.

The route to the search areas takes the REDOG volunteers through heavily devastated areas every day. The clean-up work is still in full swing; broken, muddy cars are stacked on the side of the road; large piles of bamboo, sand, rubble and other waste are piled up. Intensive searches for missing persons are still underway, whether by various dog squads, civilian search teams, the military, the Guarda Civil or the fire brigade, and all this from land, by boat and from the air with drones and helicopters.

Saturday, 23rd november 24
On Saturday, we searched the ravine near Pedralba for a missing family member. We were accompanied by the Guarda Cilvil, which consisted of various units: mountain specialists, divers and area search teams. The crossing of the gorge and the searches were very challenging, especially the accumulations and alluvial deposits of bamboo made progress difficult. It took us 3.5 hours to search the 1.5 kilometres of river. Unfortunately, we were unable to report any sightings along the entire stretch.

Friday, 22nd november 2024

Like a battering ram, the water masses of the ‘Barranc de Xiva’ in the suburb of Valencia pushed debris, wood and rubbish in front of them - destroying everything in their path. On Friday, the REDOG search and rescue dogs searched for missing people along the shore, while their colleagues from the Freiburg im Breisgau search dog team searched the water by boat. A perfect complement.

There are many barrancos around Valencia, short, steep streams that lead from the mountains into the sea. They are dry almost all year round. However, when it rains heavily, they turn into raging rivers in minutes. Dozens of people lost their lives here during the flood disaster in Spain, and some are still missing.

Later that day, we searched in a second area where a team from the Netherlands had been working the day before and had reported the search. On this day, the REDOG search and rescue dogs reported at three locations. We handed these locations over to those responsible on site for the rescue work.

Thursday 21st november 2024

The photos show it: metres of bamboo, mud, sand and rubbish are piled up. It is almost impossible for humans to get through these alluvial nests, but our search and rescue dogs Gimli, Dave and Yoshi skilfully move on top of them - and sometimes even underneath them.

After the initial briefing in the morning, we set off with our colleagues from the Freiburg im Breisgau search dog team to the first search area, an orange plantation. Some of the roads were impassable and we had to turn back several times - but we reached the search area via detours. The three REDOG dog teams and the five dog teams from the Freiburg search dog team searched the area until sunset.

Wednesday 20th november 2024

Massive flooding occurred in Spain at the end of October. Over 200 people died and many are still missing. The task of the REDOG search and rescue dogs and a technical detection specialist will be to locate the missing people. Almost three weeks after the flood disaster, there is hardly any chance of finding missing people alive. However, it is important to recover people so that their families can say goodbye.

REDOG had been asked for support by the Freiburg im Breisgau search dog team. The German team had already searched for missing persons during a mission a week earlier. On site, we are liaising closely with the fire brigade, the Guardia Civil and the police.