Police searching for a British man swept away by flood waters along with his girlfriend while hiking in Majorca have found a second body.
A body – which has not yet been identified as missing Briton Alexander Johnson – was found in the canyon known as the Torrent de Pareis in the island’s Tramuntana mountain range in Sa Calobra this morning.
Just after 11.15am local time a Civil Guard spokesman said: ‘The Civil Guard has found the body of a young man which pending official identification, corresponds to that of the man who disappeared on Tuesday while he was hiking in the Torrent de Pareis.’
Mr Johnson, 32, is feared to have been caught by floodwaters as he tried to save his partner, Sarah Jane Thompson, 26.
Her body was found on Wednesday morning in a flooded canyon the pair had been hiking when they were swept away by a torrent of water during a storm on Tuesday afternoon.
The trousers of missing British hiker Alexander Johnson, who is feared to have been swept away by a devastating flood, has been found by Majorcan search teams (pictured) yesterday
The grim discovery was made yesterday after divers joined the hunt for the missing 32-year-old, who was swept away by the flood whilst trying to save his girlfriend (Pictured: Search teams wading through water)
The head of the Civil Guard’s specialist mountain rescue team remained confident yesterday that they would find Mr Johnson’s body (Pictured: A helicopter searching the canyon)
A pair of trousers believed to belong to Mr Johnson was found by search teams yesterday after divers joined the hunt for the missing man in the flooded canyon called the Torrent de Pareis.
Before the trousers were discovered, a Civil Guard spokesman said yesterday: ‘The search operation was resumed first thing with specialist Civil Guard divers joining the operation.
‘Air and land resources were employed by the Civil Guard. Several teams of firefighters were also mobilised.’
The Civil Guard yesterday released footage showing officers drudging through the water – as well as flying drones – in a bid to find the missing Brit.
Relatives of the pair, who were holidaying in Majorca, are currently being assisted by psychologists.
According to other hikers who were with the Brits and later rescued by the Civil Guard, the young woman was swept away by a strong surge of water and the man was carried away shortly after whilst trying to save her.
An official said: ‘The British man and woman were a couple. They were here on holiday and staying locally on the island. They also have family here with them and we are helping as best we can.’
Authorities had set up a special operation on Tuesday in anticipation of hikers trying to access the stream, despite several weather warnings being distributed across the island.
The mountain rescue team evacuated ten people later that day, including some related to the tragic couple, who were trapped and without warm and protective clothing.
Emergency services resumed their search efforts for missing British tourist Mr Johnson, 32, on September 5
Helicopters were launched (pictured above on September 5) in the search efforts as authorities believe the man was carried away in the torrent of water while attempting to save his girlfriend
Rescue teams waded through the river water in an attempt to locate the missing British tourist yesterday
The area where the British hikers disappeared was affected by flash flooding (pictured above) on Tuesday
The group, who ventured into the Torrent de Pareis – a river running through the Tramuntana area of northwest Majorca, reportedly showed signs of hypothermia, due to the low temperatures which continued to plummet as they became increasingly drenched by the downpour.
The UNESCO World Heritage Site, regarded as one of the most scenic and well-known day walks in Majorca, follows a deep, miles-long canyon starting from the Lluc area, opening at the bay of Sa Calobra.
Hikers wishing to start the walk start at a place called Escorca, on the Ma-10 road that connects Pollensa with Soller.
Visitors are warned the canyon can be flooded at times and urged to take care.
Long sections of the bottom half are impassable on foot during severe flooding and people have drowned trying to swim sections of the canyon.
The cliffs defining the gorge are extremely tall and steep with no easy exits anywhere along the way.
The group caught in Tuesday’s flooding was escorted to safety via helicopter, with one being admitted to a medical facility in Palma and two taken to the Son Amer shelter in Escorca, the Majorca Daily Bulletin reports.
The two, who were hurried to Son Amer, are said to be ‘devastated’ by the incident, as they desperately await news regarding their loved ones.
Three managed to reach the safety of a mountain hut just after midnight on Wednesday morning, with one of them reportedly being ‘slightly hurt’.
The search for Mr Johnson was paused for over two hours on Wednesday while emergency services waited for another storm, which barrelled through the area bringing torrential rain and high winds, to clear.
It was later resumed, but only on land, as authorities faced difficulties using the helicopter.
Police previously tried to establish the man’s whereabouts by triangulating his mobile phone.
Officials at the scene of the search said the group was ‘not equipped’ correctly but, mentioning the hikers not wearing warm clothes.
Civil Guards are seen in the area where emergency services continue with the search of a British national that went missing in Torrent de Pareis in Mallorca yesterday
One official previously said: ‘We are tired of rescuing tourists from the area who go out in just flip flops.’
He added: ‘This is not a stroll in the park. It’s a very difficult and technical hike and you need the proper equipment and clothing.
‘Some of the group we rescued were soaked to the skin and suffering from hypothermia following the bad weather.
‘If you are going to do this hike you need to be prepared and most importantly you need to check the weather before going out.’
Another told MailOnline: ‘There was a larger group of people who set off on the hike and the two people later joined them.
‘They arrived by scooter to meet up with their friends and the brother of the missing man has been here at the scene but has now left.
‘We found the woman this morning after the helicopter spotted her backpack from the air and we were able to recover her body but the man is still missing.
‘The woman was found not far from the trail but the search for the man is proving difficult because of the weather conditions.’
Bad weather has hit Majorca for much of this week, with one shocking clip showing the terrifying moment the flood surged through a resort.
Rescue teams said the woman’s body had been found close to the start of the hiking trail but there were fears the man could have been washed out to sea.
A firefighter told MailOnline: ‘That is a possibility, but we hope that maybe they are alive somewhere of that alive if they have died the body is trapped by a rock or some other debris.’
Video exclusively obtained by MailOnline shows a frothing surge of water cascading through the seafront Es Port restaurant at the mouth of the Pareis river on September 4
Bad weather has hit Majorca for much of this week
Balearic airports saw widespread delays on Wednesday, both in departures and arrivals in Palma, Ibiza, and Menorca, with rainfall of between 50 and 90 litres per square mile and wind gusts of between 90 and 120km per hour.
The Torrent de Pareis is a riverbed that can be hiked during the dry months but is often affected by flash floods as it collects a large amount of rainwater that falls on the mountain and funnels it down this narrow valley.
The heavy rains that hit Mallorca on Tuesday left between 70 and 100 litres of water per square metre in the Serra de Tramuntana area, according to Ultima Hora.
In Escorsa, where the mountain range is located, the Torrent de Es Raco overflowed, causing emergency teams to rescue a hundred people who had been trapped.
MailOnline has contacted the FCDO for comment.
