Search for missing after 15 killed in Europe floods Published duration 11 October 2018

image caption Rescue workers in Majorca are searching for a missing child

The search continues for missing people following flash flooding in parts of Spain, Italy and France.

Twelve died - including a British couple - when torrential rain lashed eastern Majorca in Spain. An eight-year-old local boy is still missing.

Three Germans and a Dutch woman were among those who lost their lives.

A flash flood on France's south coast killed two people in Sainte-Maxime while a woman was found dead after a storm in Sardinia, Italy.

image caption The two British victims were found in this taxi, which had been swept away

Looters

They were discovered in their submerged taxi, which had been swept away in Sillot, near the tourist town of Sant Llorenç. The body of the taxi driver was discovered nearby.

image copyright EPA image caption Homes in Sant Llorenç suffered heavy flood damage

Police in Sant Llorenç say they are dealing with many incidents of looting and have increased patrols.

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez has said it will take months to return the disaster-hit towns to normality.

More than 100 rescue workers searched through the night for the missing eight-year-old boy. He is believed to have been in a car with his mother, who is among the victims.

His sister, who was also in the car, survived and was rescued.

The world's number one tennis player, Rafael Nadal, has opened the doors of his tennis academy in Manacor, near Sant Llorenç, and was photographed taking part in the clean-up effort as a volunteer.

Nadal was born in Manacor. He tweeted his condolences to victims' families, calling it a "sad day for Majorca".

Swept away

In southern France the rise of the River Garonnette in Saint-Maxime swept five cars towards the nearby sea.

Two bodies were found in one of the cars, which had been tossed upside down in the water.

Saint-Maxime lies in the Var region, where local authorities had urged people not to take to the flooded roads and to seek shelter during the heavy rainfall.

According to the BFMTV news site, 210mm (8in) of rain fell on Wednesday night - two months' worth of normal rainfall.

Bridge down

In Italy, the Cagliari area of Sardinia was also hit by bad weather, and one woman was found dead on Thursday. Her car had got trapped by the flooding.

Italian news agency Ansa named her as 45-year-old Tamara Maccario and said she and her family had left their home near a river over fear of the impending floodwater. The vehicle was swept away at about midnight on Wednesday.

image copyright AFP / Guardia de Finanza image caption Aerial footage showed the extent of damage to the roads in Italy

Ansa reports that one of the woman's daughters was found clinging to a tree, while two other children and their father were found in two separate homes nearby.

Ms Maccario's body was found on Thursday morning. Another man was also reported missing.

Large parts of Cagliari remain underwater, demonstrated in a video posted by Italian firefighters.

Roads and bridges have also been damaged.