Flooding kills 4 nursing home residents in northern Spain; 5 others hospitalized

Emergency workers attended the scene where five residents were rescued and hospitalized after the rain engulfed a ground floor of the building next to the Sio River in the town of Agramunt, in Lerida province, Spain, Tuesday, Nov. 3, 2015. A river in northeastern Spain swelled by torrential downpours overflowed its banks early Tuesday morning, inundating a nursing home and killing four elderly residents, authorities said. (AP Photo/Santi Iglesias) (The Associated Press)

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People look at the Sio River near to the building where five residents were rescued and hospitalized after the rain engulfed a ground floor of the building in the town of Agramunt, in Lerida province, Spain, Tuesday, Nov. 3, 2015. A river in northeastern Spain swelled by torrential downpours overflowed its banks early Tuesday morning, inundating a nursing home and killing four elderly residents, authorities said. (AP Photo/Santi Iglesias) (The Associated Press)

Undertaker's workers carry the body of a deceased person after the rain engulfed a ground floor of the building next to the Sio River in the town of Agramunt, in Lerida province, Spain, Tuesday, Nov. 3, 2015. A river in northeastern Spain swelled by torrential downpours overflowed its banks early Tuesday morning, inundating a nursing home and killing four elderly residents, authorities said. (AP Photo/Santi Iglesias) (The Associated Press)

MADRID – Spanish authorities say four elderly people have died in a flood at the nursing home in which they lived.

The civil protection department of the northeastern region of Catalonia said the flooding, caused by heavy rain, engulfed the lower ground floor of the building early Tuesday in the town of Agramunt. Spanish media reported that five other residents were taken to hospitals.

The Catalan government confirmed the deaths. Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy tweeted his condolences.