Police in Tenerife have called for backup in their search for missing British tourist Jay Slater after the teenager disappeared last week.
It’s also been reported that officers are widening the operation and increasing the search area after the apprentice bricklayer, 19, vanished following a rave.
A spokesman for the force said: “The Civil Guard is continuing with the search operation for the young British man who went missing near the Masca area of the municipality of Buenavista del Norte in which different units are participating.
“In addition today several dog trainers and their expert dogs who have transferred from Madrid have joined the search. These dogs are specifically trained in searching for people over large swathes of land.”
He added: “The difference is that specialisation in large expanses of land. The dogs that were already taking place in the operation were trained for searches in smaller areas.”
A representative for the Civil Guard described the search area as “immense”, adding: “Officers involved in the search are going over old ground in the gorge but teams are also looking at other areas such as forest trails and tracks in other parts of Buenavista del Norte. We’re talking about an immense area.
“We’re not going to go into every little new detail of the search or give a running commentary but everything possible is being done to find this missing man and we continue to keep an open mind with regards to what could have happened to him.”
They explained that is was still a land search opereration that hasn’t extended to the sea yet.
The force confirmed earlier today that the search operation, involving mountain rescue experts, scent dogs, a helicopter and drones, was currently confined to the municipality of Buenavista del Norte, which includes Masca.
They are refraining from commenting on other aspects of the police investigation beyond the ground and air search.
Rural de Teno Park is the last known location of Jay Slater, which was about 11 hours away, by foot, from the AirBnB he was staying at with his two friends.
The Lancashire teen was officially reported missing on Monday following a nightout on the island.