Horror moment terrifying flood surges through Majorca mountain resort as Brit hiker, 26, killed & her boyfriend missing
THIS is the terrifying moment a flood tore through a resort, killing a British hiker.
Footage shows water rushing through a resort at the mouth of Pareis River in Majorca.
A 26-year-old woman was swept away after a biblical downpour created the flash flood on Tuesday.
The Brit tourist was hiking with her boyfriend and another group of hikers along a path by the Torrent de Pareis, a river running through the Tramuntana area of northwest Majorca, when the torrential rain hit.
The hiker’s body was reportedly found near the spot where cops had begun their search in the Spanish paradise island.
Her boyfriend, a 32-year-old man has not been located.
Sources from the Guardia Civil reported that the group that went into the mountain and lacked the necessary equipment and clothing.
A police officer attached to the search operation said: “We are tired of taking tourists in flip-flops out of the torrent, who think it’s a stroll when in reality it’s a very demanding route, which you have to do with the right equipment.”
The Civil Guardia stopped the search for several hours on Tuesday as they waited for the storm to clear. A ground search later resumed.
A restaurant staff member told the Daily Mail: “It was unbelievable, one minute it was bright sunshine the next minute the sky turned black as if it was night and then it started raining really fiercely.
“This time of year the river is just a stream but within less than an hour a huge wall of water came down the side of the mountain and into the sea.
“It was like Niagara Falls, there was water falling everywhere.”
Parts of the island have been affected by severe flooding following heavy rain on Friday, with the situation expected to worsen today as the island continues on orange alert.
The Civil Guard, which has mobilised mountain rescue experts, said: “The Civil Guard yesterday rescued 10 people who were trapped in the Torrent de Pareis by a torrent of water.
“Our Greim unit established an operation throughout the day there to prevent possible accidents involving hikers who were in the area given the forecast of heavy rain.
“Given the experiences of previous years, when many visitors ignore weather conditions and end up getting trapped by high water, the decision was taken to establish precautionary measures.
“Thanks to this operation, and with the help of a Civil Guard helicopter, officers were able to save the lives of 10 people who were trapped, without protective clothing, and completely soaked.”
The rescued walkers, two Spaniards and the rest French, German and British, later told cops that two members of a group of five “had been swept away by a torrent of water and they had been unable to do anything to save them and didn’t know where they were.”
The torrent 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.
Hikers wishing to start the walk start at a place called Escorca, on the Ma-10 road that connects Pollensa with Soller along the Serra de Tramuntana mountain range where the trapped tourists are understood to have been rescued and the two Brits swept away by the flash floods.