Laurence Dollimore
THE body of a teenager who vanished while swimming with friends in Spain has today been found.
The 18-year-old was feared dead after disappearing from the San Juan reservoir in Madrid on Wednesday.
His corpse was found some 12 metres off Playa de Muro by the Guardia Civil at around 10.45am today.
The unnamed boy was discovered by the GEAS aquatic force some 5.6 metres below the water’s surface.
His body will be taken for a routine autopsy to confirm his cause of death.
The missing teenager was part of a group of four friends who spent the day at the reservoir.
At 3.10pm on Wednesday, one of the group entered the water and, after swimming a distance, began to shout for help, leading his friends to quickly call the 112 emergency number.
The Guardia Civil raced to the scene alongside firefighters who used boats to search the surface of the water and nearby areas.
The search teams worked until 10.20pm, including divers who scoured the water some 20 metres deep.
The temperature of the water, at just 13C, is said to have complicated the search.
Thursday saw police bring in drones and extra divers to ramp up the operation, which was hampered by poor visibility amid rainy weather.
A spokesperson for the Guardia Civil said it is forbidden to swim in the area where the boy was found, but not in the area where he entered the water.
She added that the reservoir can be dangerous because ‘the currents and water temperature change abruptly in a few seconds, in addition to there being vegetation at the bottom.’
