A British hiker has been found dead and another is still missing after they disappeared when a storm hit the mountains in Majorca.
The 32-year-old British national was found near the spot where police had begun their search near the Torrent de Pareis, a river in the Tramuntana mountain range on Majorca’s northwest coast.
The two British hikers went missing during a storm and are believed to have been caught in heavy rain, which caused severe flooding in parts of the island.
The operation to try to find the other missing Briton, believed to be a woman, is ongoing.
Police are trying to establish the missing hiker’s whereabouts by triangulating her mobile phone.
The two British hikers went missing during a storm and are believed to have been caught in heavy rain, which caused severe flooding in parts of the island. Pictured: the Civil Guard at the scene in the Tramuntana mountain range)
The 32-year-old British national was found near the spot where police had begun their search near the Torrent de Pareis, a river in the Tramuntana mountain range on Majorca’s northwest coast (file image of the Tramuntana mountains)
Local media reported the two were part of a larger group of five that had ventured out on the hike on Tuesday afternoon as the storm hit.
Three managed to reach the safety of a mountain hut just after midnight on Wednesday morning, with one of them reportedly being ‘slightly hurt’.
The Civil Guard said it rescued 10 hikers – including German, English and French tourists – from several different groups who were trapped in or near the Torrent de Pareis. They were reportedly soaked and didn’t wear any warm clothing.
Several of the tourists told their rescuers that two other people – the British man found dead and the British woman still missing – had been swept away by the water and disappeared, causing the Civil Guard to launch the search.
A spokesman for a regional government-run emergency services coordination centre said this morning: ‘A search is ongoing for two hikers missing since last night in the vicinity of Torrent de Pareis in Escorca.’
Shortly afterwards it was reported a body had been found near the spot where the search was launched.
Civil Guard officers, helicopters and firefighters are understood to be involved in the ongoing operation.
The heavy rains that hit Mallorca on Tuesday left between 70 and 100 litres of water per square metre in the Serra de Tramuntana area, according to Ultima Hora.
The storms battering the island are expected to worsen today.
In Escorsa, where the mountain range is located, the Torrent de Es Raco overflowed, causing emergency teams to rescue a hundred people who had been trapped.
