Coastguard locates the paddle surf board, on which the two missing young men were riding, around 15 nautical miles off the Costa del Sol

Spain's coastguard and maritime rescue service, Salvamento Marítimo, has located around 15 nautical miles from the Costa del Sol coast the paddle surf board on which the two young men missing since Sunday 27 August from Huelin beach in Malaga, were riding. For now, the search to find Maxi Ludvik, 29, and Emmanuel Soria, 34, has been unsuccessful.

The discovery was made at around half past six this Monday evening. The Helimer 207 helicopter located a paddle board identical to the one in a photograph provided by the family. It was drifting about 15 nauticalmiles southeast of Malaga, a logical route considering the strong westerly wind that blew on Sunday.

A sailing boat passing through the area was in charge of rescuing the board, which still had a thermos flask on it. The two friends had both announced to their families that they were going to watch the sunrise from the sea sharing a drink.

Concerns were raised just after four o'clock on Sunday afternoon when Maxi did not arrive at the ice cream parlour where he worked. His relatives and bosses called him constantly on the phone without receiving an answer. The same happened with Emmanuel, who is on holiday in Malaga.

Santiago Soria, who is Emmanuel's brother, said the pair had only been paddle surfing for a short time - they bought inflatable boards on the internet - and had been out to sea three or four times. On Sunday there were strong winds with gusts of more than 50 kilometres per hour.

A sister of Emmanuel went to the National Police provincial station to report the disappearance. A search operation was immediately set up involving Salvamento Marítimo, the Guardia Civil and National Police teams to try to locate them.

The air and search involves the Helimer 207 helicopter, the Salvamar Alnitak and Gadir rescue vessels, as well as resources from other organisations such as the Red Cross vessel LS Cronos, the Río Ter patrol boat, Frontex and Guardia Civil helicopters and an Air Force plane.

Relatives and friends of the missing have also been involved in the search, which has spread to social media networks. If anyone has any information as to the pair's whereabouts, they are asked to contact 112 Andalucía emergency services control room, Guardia Civil (062), National Police (091) or Local Police (092).