Members of the rescue group take part in the search for the microlight this Sunday Joaquín Rivas (Europa Press)
Two people who were traveling on board a light aircraft are still missing in the province of Valladolid: Guillermo Álvarez, mayor of the PSOE in the municipality of Geria, and his niece Beatriz Cantos. The Civil Guard are coordinating a search device for the occupants of the ultralight plane that went missing after taking off from an airfield in the town of Matilla de los Caños on Saturday afternoon. Army air rescue personnel and resources were involved in the operation. Both authorities and volunteers have been combing the San Miguel del Pino area near the Duero River where they believe the device may have fallen.
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The search work began as soon as there was evidence of the incident and the two occupants did not return at the scheduled time. The government sub-delegation in Valladolid has reported that the phone of one of the passengers initially rang but did not respond to calls.
Localization attempts on Saturday were unsuccessful, at night a helicopter with a thermal imaging camera was used, which also did not provide any information about the two people. The Army Air Rescue has joined these efforts because of its experience in “air accident search and rescue”.
The Civil Guard has divided the area where they believe the disappeared may be found into the area around the base from which they took off more than 24 hours ago. Civil Protection members and volunteers have joined the rescue team.
One of the helicopters used to search for the crew members Joaquín Rivas (Europa Press)
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The proximity of the Duero River, which already includes the waters of the Pisuerga River in this stretch and which is flowing down these days due to the heavy rains of recent weeks, has led to the deployment of Special Group for Underwater Activities (GEAS) agents been incorporated. The high flow rate makes this part of the scan difficult.
The Civil Guard has also reported that brigades from the Conservation Service (Seprona) and Command’s Citizen Security Unit (Usecic) have joined. Added to these specialists for similar missions are Valladolid Provincial Council Firefighters to assist with air and water operations. Civil protection volunteers from nearby towns and friends and relatives of the two disappeared also attended this Sunday morning. The planes of the airfield itself also work together with the support of a helicopter from the Junta de Castilla y León, another from the Guardia Civil and drones.