Search resumes for 53-year-old paddle boarder reported missing off the Costa del Sol

Spain's Salvamento Marítimo maritime rescue service launched a large search operation on the eastern strip of the Costa del Sol on Tuesday afternoon (27 February) for a man who was reported missing after he went out paddle boarding in the Benajarafe area, on the coast of Vélez-Málaga. It was his wife who alerted the 112 emergency services, after he failed to return home.

Search teams from Cadiz and Almeria were alerted and began the operation involving two vessels and a rescue helicopter. At around 8pm, the operation was halted without success due to the lack of visibility. It is scheduled to resume again early this Wednesday morning (28 February).

The missing person is Nicolás Notario Romero, aged 53, some 1.75 metres tall and of athletic build, according to the description issued by the SOS Desaparecidos missing persons association. He has brown hair and eyes and wears prescription glasses.

In August last year, two young people also disappeared off the Costa del Sol while paddle boarding. They were two young Argentinians who set off from La Misericordia beach in Malaga city, on the Costa del Sol. Their paddle board was recovered but the pair were not found, despite an extensive search operation.