Huge search operation resumes for second Alhaurín el Grande man swept away during weekend storm

Around 150 people, including emergency service personnel and volunteers, have resumed their search early this Monday morning for the man who went missing this weekend in Alhaurín el Grande during the episodes of torrential rain and flooding in Malaga province. He is the owner of a well-known café in the municipality and in his fifties. The search operation for him is being extended along the river Fahala and also at its mouth, given the possibility that the force of the water may have carried him several kilometres downstream.

The alarm was raised on Sunday morning, when the Guardia Civil and the Local Police activated a search operation in Alhaurín el Grande for the disappearance of two local residents, aged 53 and 54, who were last seen late on Saturday after leaving an establishment in Camino de Málaga at around 9pm. One of them was found dead yesterday afternoon, in the Fahala riverbed as it passes through the municipality of Cártama. His name was Francisco and he worked as head of studies at Los Montecillos secondary school in Coín.

On Sunday morning, the municipal police located the van in which the two were travelling in the riverbed, but without occupants and with significant damage. It is suspected that the two men may have got out of the van a little over a kilometre and a half away to try to cross the river bridge on foot.

The latest search has been ongoing since early this Monday morning. From the command post, in the Guardia Civil premises in the town, eight groups have been organised to comb the riverbed in its entirety and find the missing person. The search is being carried out by members of the Guardia Civil, Local Police and Civil Protection group and in a little while a sniffer dog team will join the efforts, as well as local volunteers.