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Elderly UK Jewish couple killed in Liverpool flood

Philip and Elaine Marco were devoted grandparents and served the community with a kosher catering business.

By Batya Jerenberg, World Israel News

A British Jewish couple who died Saturday evening after their vehicle got trapped under a flooded bridge in their hometown of Liverpool were mourned Monday by their family and the Jewish community they had served for years.

Their family said in a statement that they were “devastated and heartbroken” at the sudden tragedy, which had taken away Philip (77) and Elaine (75) Marco, “much-loved” parents of four and grandparents of ten, just days before their 54th wedding anniversary.

“Our only comfort is knowing that they were together to the very end,” they said.

Their rabbi, Avremi Kievman of Liverpool’s Chabad, who had known the Marcos for 30 years, told local paper Echo, “They were very friendly, they were very kind and very generous people.”

Calling them “a quiet and humble couple,” he added that “their main interests were their grandchildren,” and “they were very dedicated and devoted grandparents, even more so than usual.”

Philip was also one of the last kosher caterers in the city, making him well known far beyond his family.

Their passing, Kievman said, “will leave a mark in the whole community, for many people. It is a terrible loss and the horrific circumstances will make it harder to accept.”

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A passerby in a taxi had noticed the red lights of the Marcos’ Mercedes under the water and called the authorities, who extracted the couple from their car and rushed them to the hospital, but it was too late and the physicians were forced to declare their death.

The rushing water was described as being as high as 15 feet in some spots below the bridge, which was a known trouble spot during heavy rains such as the storm that hit Liverpool that weekend, due to an aged sewage system that cannot keep the road clear anymore.

“It floods every time you have torrential rain,” a local resident told the press. “In the last six months, there have been at least two cars stuck. There is nothing leading it to warn people of the flooding.”

Calling it a “tragic incident,” the Merseyside Police sent their condolences and said that they were still investigating exactly what had happened. They urged anyone who tried to help at the scene, witnessed or “had any dashcam footage from their car” of the accident, which occurred around 9:20 pm, to assist them in their inquiries.

The Liverpool city council also sent their sympathies, saying, “This was a tragic incident and our thoughts are with those involved and their families.” The council announced that the road in question would remain closed for the time being.