RESCUERS are frantically searching for a man who went missing on Sunday after violent storms and severe flooding killed two people on Costa del Sol over the weekend.
A group of around 150 people, including emergency services personnel and volunteers, have been combing a wide area surrounding the Fahala river bank, west of Malaga, since early Monday morning.
The missing man and a companion, aged 53 and 54, likely attempted to wade the river on foot around 9am on Sunday after realising their vehicle could not make it across, authorities said.
READ MORE: Deadly weekend storm claims second life as missing man’s body is found near Granada
Both travellers were swept away by fast-flowing waters near Alhaurin el Grande, and one of them was later found dead several kilometres downstream in Cartama.
The victim, named only as Francisco, worked as head of studies at a secondary school in the town of Coin, while the missing man has been identified as the owner of a popular cafè in Alhaurin el Grande.
Early on Sunday, police spotted the wreckage of the white van the men had been travelling in, half-sunk in the riverbed.
Dozens more volunteers and sniffer dogs are set to join the search in the coming hours.
READ MORE: One dead and two missing as storm and floods rip through Costa del Sol
The tragedy unfolded as another man in Granada province was found dead this morning after attempting to cross the Cañada stream by motorbike.
Originally from Zujaira near Granada, the victim was located this morning some kilometres downstream from where he was dragged into the torrent.
The passenger he was travelling with managed to scramble to safety as the motorbike was swept up in the roaring current.
Spain’s weather agency AEMET had issued a red alert for Costa del Sol ahead of last weekend, warning of rainfall of up to 120 litres per square metre in under 12 hours.
READ MORE: Coldest Christmas for 15 years predicted for the Costa Blanca with snow in some areas
Hundreds of residents across 27 municipalities in Malaga province received emergency phone alerts urging them to move to higher ground.
The Guadalhorce River burst its banks after rising to a historic level of nearly six metres under relentless rainfall.
Floodwaters inundated more than 80 homes and businesses and damaged around 40 vehicles in Cartama.
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