Pedro Sánchez: "The objective is to save lives, recover the dead and rebuild the Valencian Community" in the aftermath of the DANA

Integrated Operational Coordination Centre (CECOPI), Eliana (Valencia)

Press conference by the President of the Government of Spain, Pedro Sánchez, following the meeting of the Integrated Operational Coordination Centre (CECOPI), chaired by King Felipe VI and Queen Letizia (Pool Moncloa/Borja Puig de la Bellacasa)

The chief executive, Pedro Sánchez, has made an institutional declaration following the meeting held at the Integrated Operational Coordination Centre (CECOPI) in Eliana (Valencia), in which the King and Queen and the president of the Valencian government, Carlos Mazón, took part.

Pedro Sánchez conveyed to the citizens of the Valencian Community and to Spanish society as a whole that the Government of Spain will not deviate from its main objective: "Saving lives and recovering the bodies of those who have died in this natural tragedy. We are also committed to the task of rebuilding the province of Valencia and other parts of Spain that may have been damaged".

The president added that the citizens want to look forward and get on with their lives, and that the government, in coordination with all the administrations, will not deviate from its objectives. The vast majority of citizens, he said, want solutions and commitments from public institutions, and reject and marginalise any kind of violence that may be perpetrated.

At the facilities, from where the emergency caused by the DANA is coordinated, Pedro Sánchez expressed the government's recognition of and solidarity with the anguish, suffering and need for security of the many residents of Paiporta, one of the most affected towns, and of the whole of the Valencian Community.

Pedro Sánchez also stressed that the solidarity of the thousands of people who have mobilised to respond to the needs of the victims is the message that must remain in society as a whole.

Non official translation