Angry flood survivors threw mud and shouted insults at King Felipe VI and Queen Letizia when the Spanish royals visited the disaster-hit town in Valencia on Sunday.
More than 200 people have been killed by devastating floods in Spain’s western Valencia region after torrential rains last week.
The royals, accompanied by Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez and regional President Carlos Mazon, visited the town of Paiporta, one of the worst-affected areas.
Locals threw eggs and mud at the royals and officials, while others booed and chanted “murderers,” “shame” and “get out,” according to the Spanish news agency EFE. Security personnel tried to shield the royals with umbrellas, videos from the scene show. Protesters also threw stones at the prime minister’s car.
According to Spanish media, locals were outraged over the lack of early warnings before and slow responses after the tragedy. “All we wanted was to be warned and we would have been saved,” one resident shouted, as quoted by Reuters.
“It was known and nobody did anything to avoid it,” another man told the king when he attempted to talk to the residents.
Despite the hostile reception, the royal family insisted on breaking the police cordon and tried talking to the approaching residents. In one video posted on social media, the queen, with traces of mud on her face and hands, can be seen seen hugging a woman and trying to console her.
After about half an hour, the royals were escorted away by police. A plan to visit another affected town, Chiva, was postponed.
Hours after the visit, the king released a video on social media, saying that he understood “the anger and frustration,” and urged the public to give the victims “hope and their guarantee that the state in its entirety is present.”