Police divers are searching for missing rugby player Levi Davis’s body in the port of Barcelona.
The search is also taking place in the Llobregat Delta, one of Catalonia’s most important wetland zones near the Catalan capital.
A spokesman for the Mossos d’Esquadra regional police force said: “The searches began this morning about 10am. We cannot say at this stage how long they will continue.
“They’re underwater searches involving divers.”
The police force added in a tweet confirming the search for Levi, who vanished after arriving in Barcelona from Ibiza on October 29th: “We continue investigating the disappearance of a man on October 29.
“We have mobilised the Maritime Police and the Aquatic Unit to search the port of Barcelona and the Llobregat Delta.
“The case continues to be investigated.”
A local investigating judge is understood to have authorised the searches after receiving a report from coastguards.
The possibility Levi had drowned in or near the port waters emerged several weeks ago.
Levi’s mum Julie said police had also told her they believed her son was likely to be the man four members of cruise liner MSC Bellissima, which docked in Barcelona around the same time he vanished, had seen in the sea wearing the same light-coloured top as Levi and shouting for help in English.
A lifebuoy was thrown to him and coastguards in Barcelona mobilised their helicopter called Helimer 203 and a vessel called Salvamar Mintaka.
A boat operated by firefighters was also sent to the scene along with police and Red Cross vessels.
The search operation is said to have lasted an entire day but was called off after it was confirmed no-one was missing from the cruise liner and police confirmed no-one had been reported missing in port waters or in the sea off Barcelona.
