A British couple have spoken about their terrifying experience escaping a Tenerife airport shuttle bus after it became stuck in floodwater.
The Canary Islands were hit by significant wind, rain and snow earlier this month as Storm Therese battered the Spanish archipelago.
Emergency plans were activated, while outdoor events were cancelled and several roads were closed.
Chloe Wyman and Albert Irvin were caught up in the middle of the bad weather as they travelled on the transport shuttle on March 24.
Albert, 29, said he had already spotted the vehicle was heading for an underpass that was clearly underwater.
Sign up for all of the latest stories
Start your day informed with Metro’s News Updates newsletter or get Breaking News alerts the moment it happens.
He said: ‘The driver went under the bridge, and it was completely flooded. For some strange reason he tried to go through it.
‘Next minute my partner was screaming, and we had to get out. The driver kept trying to open the door and we told him not to as it would flood more.’
With muddy water rising around the bus, Albert grabbed a hammer attached to the sunroof and smashed through it.
He continued: ‘If we didn’t find that hammer, we would have drowned.
‘We could only stand on the roof – I don’t know what would have happened.’
The forklift driver helped Chloe to escape first, before helping out two other passengers.
When Chloe turned to help him onto the roof, she fell into the water. Albert jumped in after her, and the pair successfully swam to safety.
All four passengers and the driver managed to escape unharmed.
Chloe, 24, said: ‘I’m a bit traumatised, I think.
‘I’ve got mental health issues, and I’ve lost my medication, so it’s hard.’
She added: ‘We’ve ended up sticking it out, but it’s made the holiday a bit rubbish.’
Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk.
For more stories like this, check our news page.