Two young men disappeared whilst out paddle surfing off Playa de Huelin in Málaga. The empty board has since been located 15 nautical miles out.

The disappearance of Maxi Ludvik, aged 29 and Emmanuel Soria aged 34, occurred on Sunday – when a coastal gale was taking place.

It was Salvamento Marítimo (Maritime Rescue) using their Helimer 207 helicopter that located the board from the air around 06.30h Monday morning, but there was no sign of the two men. A yacht that was in the area was asked to retrieve the paddle board.

The victims had said to their parents that they were going out to watch dawn from off shore, but by 16.00h Sunday afternoon, with no sight of Maxi and Emmanuel, the family, unable to raise them on their mobiles, were getting desperate. Maxi, for example, was due to take over at the heladeria where he worked at 16.00h.

The brother of Emmanuel, Santiago Soria, said that his brother had little experience using a paddle board and had only been out on one three or four times. However, that Sunday winds were gusting at over 50 kph

It was Santiago who contacted the Police station to report their disappearance. From that moment, Salvamento Marítimo, the Guardia Civil and the Policía Nacional were involved in the search for them.

Out to sea, SM Helimar 207, Salvamar Alnitak, Salvamar Gadir from Maritime Rescue, as well as a launch LS Cronos (Red Cross) the Guardia Civil patrol ship, Río Ter, helicopters belonging to Frontex and aircraft belong to the Spanish Air Force participated in the search and rescue mission.

(News/Noticias, City & Metropolitan Area, Malaga, Andalucia)