The storm that has hit different parts of Spain with varying intensity leaves three people missing at sea for the moment: two young people aged 16 and 17 who had gone fishing on Friday in Las Coloradas, in the north of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, and a swimmer who disappeared on Saturday on Barcelona's Mar Bella beach.
The state of the sea is making rescue tasks in Gran Canaria difficult.
The strong waves in the area have, for the moment, prevented divers from diving.
Three helicopters and two boats are participating in the operation, in addition to a large ground team and drones from the Civil Guard, the Emergency and Rescue Group of the Government of the Canary Islands (GES), Maritime Rescue, the National Police, the Red Cross and the firefighters of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria.
The two minors moved on Friday at noon to an area called La Hondura, located inside the military perimeter that occupies almost the entire Isleta (north of the island).
This area is difficult to access and “extremely dangerous”, according to the Government of the Canary Islands.
The tasks are being affected by the bad sea conditions.
Since they were slow to arrive, the mother of one of them called a friend who used to go with them.
The young man went there around 3:00 p.m. on Friday and saw the rods and cell phones.
The operation was deployed at 7:15 p.m.
The search operation continues for 2 young people on the coast of Las Palmas in #GranCanaria
➡️Intervenen @salvamentogob, #GES, @PoliciaLPA @guardiacivil @policia and @BomberosLPA
➡️ Drones from @PoliciaLPA @BomberosLPA and #GES are used in sectorized areas of search pic.twitter.com/FNAfVCnfCL
— 1-1-2 Canarias (@112canarias) March 10, 2024
This enclave is known among fishermen.
Last November, in fact, a fisherman fell into the sea and his body has not yet been rescued.
The Government of the Canary Islands decreed an alert for coastal phenomena late on Saturday afternoon, and asked citizens to take extreme precautions due to coastal phenomena, as well as possible flooding of promenades during high tide.
“At this time it is essential not to stand on docks and breakwaters, nor to remain in places close to the sea to avoid being hit or dragged by the waves,” the General Directorate of Emergencies of the autonomous Executive explained in this regard on Saturday night.
In Barcelona, the authorities continued the search for a missing swimmer this Sunday.
At 2:00 p.m. on Saturday, a witness saw a swimmer wearing a wetsuit holding on to a buoy.
Apparently, he was having difficulty staying afloat due to the intense waves and, according to the witness, he sank into the sea.
The witness contacted the emergency services and soon arrived at the Maritime Rescue area.
The Group of Underwater Activities Specialists (GEAS) of the Civil Guard also went to the scene to try to locate the swimmer together with Barcelona Firefighters, Mossos and the Urban Police.
The search for the swimmer was suspended at dusk and, this Sunday, it was resumed at 8:00.
After several hours of searching, and once it was late at night, the rescue teams canceled the search until Monday at 8:00.
The Civil Guard has carried out new dives and a helicopter has combed the area.
Boats have also been used that have traveled the section where the swimmer was seen without locating him.