“I’m running out of air. I can’t take it anymore. I love you”: Omar’s tragic message to his family that arrived when it was too late

Across the planet, extreme weather is leading to tragic outcomes, as the infrastructure of many countries and their emergency preparedness plans prove inadequate.

In Texas, the death toll from severe flooding continues to rise, now surpassing 80. The search and rescue operation is still underway, though it is sadly shifting into a search and recovery effort. Among the deceased are at least 20 children, many of them campers at Camp Mystic along the Guadalupe River, where waters rose with alarming speed. In some areas, water levels surged by 26 feet in under an hour, leaving a path of destruction through communities across Central Texas.

A shared reality worlds apart

Meanwhile, in Spain, record-breaking heat has heightened the risk of wildfires, and lives have been lost there as well. For many families grieving or anxiously awaiting news of loved ones, the final words of Omar Fabián, 45—a farmworker in the Catalan province of Lleida—echo the heartbreaking calls received by those who lost kin in the floods. Jordi Esteve, 32, the owner of the farm, was also killed in the blaze, with the Spanish newspaper El País reporting that authorities believe Esteve went back to the farm to rescue Fabián, who had stayed behind.

On Tuesday, July 1, Fabián called his family as he tried to escape the blaze. He left a devastating message that his wife and daughters would later hear: “I love you all so much. Forgive me, I’m running out of air. I can’t take it anymore. I love you.” Fabián has immigrated to Spain from Colombia and recently saved enough to bring his wife and teenage daughters over to join him.

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