In the early hours of yesterday morning, emergency services in Baza received a call out; five people were trapped in a lorry in the middle of a river.

The call came in at 01.09h and a fire engine with an extending ladder was despatched to the Rio de Benamaurel, near Huerta Real, which was running higher than normal because of the recent rainfall.

When they got there, they realised that it was impossible to reach the stranded victims from that side of the river, so they took a circuitous route to the other bank via the A-4200.

The five people were on the cabin roof, as the water was around two metres deep. Using the extended ladder they got them one by one to dry land about 20 metres away, where the fire engine was parked.

It took about three hours in all, including having to pull a car out of a ditch they came across on their way back to the fire station.

(News: Benamaurel, Baza, Altiplano, Granada, Andalucia)