Missing British man found dead on Malaga beach after three-day search

A MISSING British man has been found dead on a Costa del Sol beach.

Police, coastguards and Red Cross officials had been searching for the 25-year-old for nearly three days after a young man described at the time as a “foreigner” was seen entering the sea at a popular beach in Malaga called Misericordia Beach.

The alarm was raised late last Wednesday just before 10.30pm after he failed to exit the water.

A man’s body was found at the neighbouring Huelin Beach early on Saturday morning, on the sand and out of the water, but it was not immediately clear if he was the same person feared missing.

Today police sources confirmed the body was that of the man seen entering the sea and revealed he was a British national.

It was not immediately clear this morning if he had drowned or died of other causes and the results of the autopsy, which will be sent to an investigating magistrate at a local court, are unlikely to be made public.

A spokesman for Spain’s National Police confirmed the unnamed man’s death is not being treated as suspicious.

He said: “The person found dead is the same one who went missing three days earlier.

“There is nothing pointing to any evidence of criminality.”

A source at a regional government-run emergency response coordination centre said: “The discovery of the lifeless body of a person on Huelin beach, in the city of Malaga, triggered a large emergency response early on Saturday morning.

“The alert was received minutes before 8.20am, when authorities were notified of the presence of a deceased man next to a picnic area in the zone.

“Following the call, the Andalucia 112 emergencies system immediately mobilized medical services, Local Police, Red Cross, Guardia Civil, and National Police, whose personnel confirmed the death at the scene.”

It is not yet clear if the British man lived locally or was on holiday in the area.

Huelin Beach is west of Malaga city centre and features a number of leisure zones around it which are popular places to practice sport and for families to relax.