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'Devoted' Jewish grandparents die in Liverpool flood tragedy
Elaine and Philip Marco were trapped in their car after driving onto a flooded road
August 29, 2023 10:02
Elaine and Philip Marco were trapped in their car after driving onto a flooded road
August 29, 2023 10:02Tributes have been paid to two "devoted grandparents" from Liverpool who died in a flood after their car got trapped under a bridge last weekend.
Philip and Elaine Marco, of Marcos Catering, were in their car in Mossley Hill on Saturday when firefighters and police were called to rescue the pair.
Emergency teams and members of the public fought to free the couple, who were trapped inside their black Mercedes Class 180, after they drove into a flooded area on Queens Drive.
Philip, 77, and Elaine, 75, were taken to hospital but doctors could not revive them.
Philip was one of Liverpool’s well known kosher caterers and one of the last kosher caterers based in the city.
The couple's family said they were "devastated and heartbroken by the sudden loss of Elaine and Philip Marco."
In a statement they said: "They have much loved parents to four children and 10 grandchildren. The family are arriving overseas from America and Australia to mourn their loss.
“They were due to celebrate their 54th wedding anniversary next week and our only comfort is knowing that they were together to the very end.”
Rabbi Avremi Kievman, of Liverpool’s Chabad, told ITV: “They were a very friendly couple, they were very kind and generous people. My wife and I knew them for 30 years; they were personal friends.
“They were very dedicated and devoted grandparents, even more so than usual. They were a quiet and humble couple. For many years they ran a catering business serving the community – they did weddings and bar mitzvahs.
“It is a terrible loss that will leave a mark on the whole community.”
One friend of the couple mourned the “terrible tragedy” and asked “Hashem to heal the torn hearts of their children and grandchildren. A huge loss to our community.”
Witnesses at the scene described seeing “red lights underwater” and footage from the scene shows water rushing underneath the bridge.
The car was seen submerged in water that has been described as being as high as 15ft in some places below the bridge on Saturday night.
As well as heavy rainfall near where the incident happened, witnesses speculated the mass of water was caused by a burst pipe.
Rebecca Wilson was traveling along Queens Drive when her taxi nearly went into the water on Saturday.
She told the Daily Mail: “We went to turn around the car and all of a sudden it looked like a waterfall coming down from the side of the bridge.
“As I looked back out of the window I turned to my mates and told them I thought I had just seen red lights under the water and I thought maybe someone had become stuck. I rang the police just to be safe.”
The area is no stranger to flooding, one local resident told reporters: “It floods every time you have torrential rain. In the last six months, there have been at least two cars stuck. There is nothing leading it to warn people of the flooding.”
Detective Chief Inspector Mike Dalton said: “Our thoughts go out to the family of the man and woman who sadly lost their lives in this tragic incident, despite the best efforts of passing members of the public, our officers and Merseyside Fire and Rescue Services at the scene.
“We are continuing to appeal to anyone who was on Queens Drive, between North Mossley Hill Road and Dovedale Road at around 9.20pm last night and saw the accident, or who stopped to try help or anyone who had any dashcam footage from their car to come forward as soon as possible.”
He appealed to the public to share any doorbell or CCTV footage from the night.
