A HUGE air and sea search is underway off Spain’s south-east coast for a missing British diver.
The unnamed Brit has been described locally as an ex-member of the Armed Forces aged 70.
The alarm was raised around midday today by a dive school in Cabo de Palos near Cartagena which said it had lost contact with the missing man.
He was last seen near a marine reserve called Hormigas Islands – Islas Hormigas in Spanish.
A Spanish Coastguard spokesman confirmed two helicopters were taking turns to search for the Brit along with a Red Cross boat and two other Coastguard vessels.
One of the vessels is being used to drop a remote operated vehicle participating in the search.
The dive school he had gone out with, one of eight in the area, has not been named.
No-one from the Civil Guard, which has mobilised one of the two helicopters, could be reached for comment this afternoon.
LAND AND SEA SEARCH
But a Spanish Coastguard spokesman said: “We were alerted at eight minutes past midday today.
“The missing man is a British ex-member of the Armed Forces aged 70.
“A Civil Guard and Coastguard helicopter are taking turns to search for him.
“Two Coastguard vessels and a Red Cross boat are also involved.
“A remote operated vehicle has been dropped from one of our vessels and it is currently searching at 40 metres below the sea surface.
“A call has gone out to any Spanish Navy vessels in the area to help out as well if they can.”
A regional government representative for the area added: “All the state’s resources have been activated in the search for this British national, a former member of the military aged 70 who disappeared while he was diving north of the Hormigas Islands in Cabo de Palos.”
Cabo de Palos is next to the popular holiday destination of La Manga, around 20 miles from the town of Cartagena.
It is popular with scuba diving fans as its sea bed is one of the most important nature reserves in the Mediterranean.
Hormigas Islands are two and a half miles from the coast. The sea bed there is considered one of the best scuba diving sites in Spain and has been designated an Integral Marine Reserve for its beauty and excellent state of conservation.
As well as the remains of shipwrecks and sunken boats, it is also home to reefs and deep underwater corral.
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