Body found in search for second British hiker missing in Majorca

Police have found a body in the search for a British man missing in a mountainous area of Majorca where a 26-year-old British woman was found dead earlier this week.

Both are believed to have been swept away in a flash flood on the Spanish island, which was hit with torrential rains and stong winds this week.

Spain’s Civil Guard said both people were on a trail that leads through a small canyon to the sea when the storm hit the Mediterranean island on Tuesday.

Emergency services have been searching the area near the Torrent de Pareis canyon in the Tramuntana mountains since Wednesday.

The man’s body was found on Friday, the Civil Guard told Reuters.

The force said earlier this week that it had rescued 10 people who became trapped in the canyon by a torrent of water.

The Civil Guard said on Thursday: “Officers were able to save the lives of 10 people who were trapped, without protective clothing, and completely soaked. They were transferred to safety using guides to assist them.

“Once they reached a safe spot the rescued walkers, two Spaniards and the rest French, German and British, told us two members of a group of five who were among those assisted had been swept away by a torrent of water and they had been unable to do anything to save them and didn’t know where they were.

“A separate search and rescue operation was mobilised until nightfall which began again today with assistance from firefighters.”

The dramatic gorge which leads to a hidden beach is often flooded from autumn until spring, and has no easy exits because of its sheer cliffs, according to a local tourism website.

The Balearic Islands and a large area of Spain’s eastern coast were under alert for strong winds and heavy rains earlier in the week.

Thunderstorms over Barcelona led the organisers of the America’s Cup sailing event to postpone racing, after lightning struck near a yacht on Tuesday, forcing a race to be abandoned.

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