Fears grow that missing Briton could be Storm Gloria’s ninth victim after his jacket is found floating 1,000ft off the coast of Ibiza
- Ben Garland, 25, disappeared after going on a motorcycle tour of the island
- Today his jacket was found 1,000ft off the coast of Ibiza in the search for Briton
- The bike was found abandoned as Storm Gloria battered the north coast of Spain
- Worried friends posted photo on social media in appealed for help in finding him
Fears missing Briton Ben Garland is set to become another Storm Gloria victim grew this afternoon after his jacket was found at sea off Ibiza.
Spanish coastguards involved in the search operation for the 25-year-old said it had been found around 1,000 feet off the coast at Punta des Gat near to the beach where Ben is believed to have vanished on Tuesday afternoon.
A spokesman for a regional government-run emergency services coordinator confirmed: ‘The jacket of the young British man who disappeared in Portinatx has been found at sea.
‘Coastguards discovered it around 300 metres off the coast from Punta des Gat.
Earlier in the day Ben’s bus driver dad Mark, who has flown to Ibiza to join in the search, said on Facebook: ‘Just a quick update on my son Ben Garland.
Worried friends of Ben appealed on social media for anyone who may have seen him
Ben Garland, 25, has been missing since yesterday when he went on a motorcycle ride around the island. The bike was found abandoned but there was no sign of Ben
‘There has not been any sightings of him as of yet. We have had to come down from the cliff tops as the dogs are now searching a large area.
‘There are lots of police, fire and rescue plus volunteers out looking and the lifeboat is scouring the coastline.’
In a direct message to well-wishers who have donated thousands of pounds to a JustGiving campaign to raise funds to help find Ben, he added: ‘Can we as a family thank every single one of you for your messages of support and prayers being sent.
‘Also thank you to everyone who has donated to the JustGiving campaign.’
Mr Garland, from Bradford-on-Avon, Wiltshire, is one of three people who are still missing in the Balearic Islands following the start of Storm Gloria, which began battering many parts of Spain on Sunday.
A 34-year-old man named as David Cabrera, 34, disappeared on Monday in Majorca. Ben is one of two people believed to have been swept into the sea in separate incidents in Ibiza.
The search for the Briton has focused on the area near Cala Portinax, a beach in the north of the island where his motorbike was found and he is thought to have taken pictures he posted on social media by the sea on Tuesday afternoon.
Rescue workers are searching the coastline in Ibiza for a missing British man who is feared to have been swept into the sea during heavy storms
The captain of the Ibiza-based yacht Ben is a crew member of raised the alarm just before midnight on Tuesday after he failed to return and his phone went unanswered.
Ten people have so far died in incidents linked to Storm Gloria, including three from hypothermia.
Worried friends of Ben, from Bradford-on-Avon, Wiltshire, appealed on social media for anyone who may have seen him.
His uncle Kirk Garland wrote on Facebook: ‘My nephew Ben Garland has been missing for over 18 hours. Please everybody pray for him to be found safe and well.’
He later added: ‘Please God let Ben Garland be found safe and well.’
Ben, who had been working as a crew member on a boat, vanished in the Portinatx area of the municipality of Sant Joan de Labritja.
The northern part of Ibiza has been lashed by Storm Gloria, which has caused an intense swell that has led to the cancellation of all maritime connections from the island.
Rescue workers believe the missing Brit could have fallen into the sea.
He was one of the crew of a boat which docked in the port of Ibiza. The captain reported him missing after went on a tour of the island on a motorcycle on his day off but didn’t return.
The bike has been found in Cala Portinatx.
Storm Gloria is expected to bring heavy rains to Catalonia today, increasing the risk rivers in areas like Girona could overflow (pictured: a woman enters her home yesterday in Tossa de Mar as foam fills the streets)
The search is being carried out both by land, with agents of the Civil Guard, Civil Protection and Local Police, and by sea, with a Civil Guard vessel.
Another man is also missing in the Balearic Islands as a result of the freak weather conditions.
On Monday, a young man disappeared whilst practiced canyoning in the torrent of Na Mora, in an area of the Serra de Tramuntana between Sóller and Escorca . Search work has also resumed today.
Mallorca has been smashed by huge waves and another town filled with foam as a storm continues to lash Spain, leaving four dead and 200,000 without power.
Videos yesterday showed waves crashing over the seafront walls and sending water cascading down the street towards buildings in Cala Ratjada on Mallorca.
While in the Costa Brava holiday resort of Tossa de Mar, locals woke up to the surreal sight of sea foam which had invaded part of the old town. One woman was filmed trying to get into her house in the resort up to her waist in the foam.
Storm Gloria is expected to bring heavy rains to Catalonia today, increasing the risk rivers in areas like Girona could overflow. The Interior Minister has described the storm as ‘exceptional.’
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