Rescue work resumes after Canary Islands floods

Emergency helicopters and rescue crews are resuming the search for four tourists missing after flash floods in the Canary Islands…

Emergency helicopters and rescue crews are resuming the search for four tourists missing after flash floods in the Canary Islands.

Three Germans were believed to have died after being caught in the flood.

They were walking near a river in a national park, said Mr Antonio Tabares, spokesman for the La Palma island council.

He said police would not release the identities of the three until their families had been contacted. Initial reports said four people had been killed.

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The four missing persons also are believed to be foreign tourists who were out walking when the storm broke, Mr Tabares said.

Some 150 people, including dozens of tourists from Germany and Austria, were camping in the Caldera de Taburiente park at the time.

The park, which includes some spectacular mountain peaks and ravines, attracts thousands of hikers from Spain and abroad each year.

A torrential downpour has drenched Spain's Canary Islands, off the northwest coast of Africa, since Monday flooding river banks and sending water coursing through the streets of residential areas.

PA