MEXICO CITY - Clinging to one another and to life itself as floodwaters engulfed their house last week, an elderly Mexican couple became a symbol of hope as video of their desperate struggle for survival went viral.
Hilario Reynosa and Elodia Reyes barely made it out alive from the floods that ravaged the country's centre and east, claiming dozens of lives with many more still missing.
While their house in Poza Rica in Veracruz state was gone, the pair spoke to AFP on Wednesday at the home of a neighbour who took them in.
"The strong current came and took her away. I dove in to look for her but couldn't find her," Reynosa recounted of the ordeal. His wife cannot swim.
"A taxi driver said: 'look, your old lady is coming up there.' I told her: 'don't move from there, I'm jumping in right now.' ... I swam out that way."
He told his wife to grab onto his neck and swim with her back to the house. They climbed onto the roof where they stayed until dawn, the water lapping at their waists, until a neighbour in a row boat finally reached them.
"She came to rescue us and took us to her house. She kept us there, gave us food. Such a kind lady!" said Reyes.
"There are people you sometimes don't know who they are, but they have a good heart. That's the beautiful thing," added her husband.
The couple's aged faces still wore looks of shock days after their ordeal, and Reynosa pulled up his shorts to show the bruises he sustained in the rescue effort.
He pleaded for help rebuilding their home, but said he counted his blessings.
"Thank God she is alive," he said.