Two bodies found in the sea off the coast of Fuengirola

A Guardia Civil maritime service patrol boat recovered two dead bodies from the sea off the coast of Fuengirola on Tuesday (29 August). In the absence of an autopsy, investigators initially ruled out that they are the two friends who disappeared while paddle board surfing from a beach on the Costa del Sol, who have been missing since last Sunday.

The bodies were spotted floating in the water in front of the Fuengirola sailing school and the police patrol boat recovered them and transferred them to the town's port.

The case is in the hands of the Civil Guard and during the visual inspection of the corpses, the officers' impression is that they are not the missing paddle board surfers Emmanuel Soria (34 years old) and Maxi Ludvik (29). There is no physical resemblance whatsoever and, furthermore, the two bodies recovered were dressed, while the two friends - it is presumed - went into the sea in swimming gear.

One of the hypotheses being considered by police is that they could be two passengers from a 'patera' migrant boat, although at the moment there is no evidence that any of them are adrift or that they are looking for castaways from one of these boats used for irregular migration.

Meanwhile, the search continues for the two young Argentinians who left Huelin beach in Malaga on Sunday to watch the sunrise from an inflatable paddle surf board that they had bought on the internet continues.

Spain's coastguard and maritime rescue service Salvamento Marítimo is leading the search, which is mainly concentrated in the area from Malaga city to the border of the province of Granada. On Tuesday a search party combed an area to the south of Torrox, taking into account the route the paddle board surfers would have taken given the westerly wind that blew on Sunday. On Monday the paddle surf board, on which the two missing young men were riding, was found around 15 nautical miles off the Costa del Sol.