By Jesus Calero

(Reuters) -The outgoing leader of Spain’s Valencia region, Carlos Mazon, told parliament on Monday the authorities did not know that people were drowning when he was questioned for hours over the handling of last year’s floods that killed 229 people.

Mazon announced his resignation on November 3 under pressure from across the political spectrum but he is still under intense scrutiny.

The leader of hard-left party Podemos accused Mazon of being personally responsible for the deaths, while the spokesperson for leftist Catalan party ERC said he should be jailed.

Victims’ relatives protested outside the lower house in Madrid as they followed Mazon’s testimony in the commission of inquiry from the street. Some people caught up in the floods have also given their testimony.

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