Moment terrifying flood surges through Majorcan resort after biblical downpour which claimed the life of British hiker and left her partner missing

This is the moment a terrifying flood surged through a Majorcan resort after a massive downpour that claimed the life of a British hiker and left her partner missing. 

Rescue teams on the island recovered the body of the woman, 26, after spotting her backpack from the air as they scoured the area in a helicopter early Wednesday morning. 

The 32-year-old man, who has not been named, is thought to have been swept away after torrential rain hit the couple who were with friends on the hike late Tuesday and rescue teams have yet to find her boyfriend.  

Video exclusively obtained by MailOnline shows a frothing surge of water cascading through the seafront Es Port restaurant at the mouth of the Pareis river, with staff frantically scrambling to save tables and chairs.

One staff member said: 'It was unbelievable, one minute it was bright sunshine the next minute the sky turned black as if it was night and then it started raining really fiercely.

'This time of year the river is just a stream but within less than an hour a huge wall of water came down the side of the mountain and into the sea, it was like Niagara Falls, there was water falling everywhere.'

Relatives of the man were also part of the group of around 10 that had been hit by a massive downpour as they hiked along a path by the Torrent de Pareis, a river running through the Tramuntana area of northwest Majorca.

An official said: 'The British man and woman were a couple. They were here on holiday and staying locally on the island. They also have family here with them and we are helping as best we can.'

Civil guard officers, mountain rescue teams and firefighters were involved in the search which began shortly after the storm barrelled through the area turning dry riverbeds into raging torrents.

Officials at the scene of the search said the group was 'not equipped' correctly but did not go into details although one said: 'We are tired of rescuing tourists from the area who go out in just flip flops.'

He added: 'This is not a stroll in the park. It's a very difficult and technical hike and you need the proper equipment and clothing.

'Some of the group we rescued were soaked to the skin and suffering from hypothermia following the bad weather.

'If you are going to do this hike you need to be prepared and most importantly you need to check the weather before going out.'

Another told MailOnline: 'There was a larger group of people who set off on the hike and the two people later joined them.

'They arrived by scooter to meet up with their friends and the brother of the missing man has been here at the scene but has now left.

'We found the woman this morning after the helicopter spotted her backpack from the air and we were able to recover her body but the man is still missing.

'The woman was found not far from the trail but the search for the man is proving difficult because of the weather conditions.'

Bad weather has hit Majorca for much of this week and at one stage the search had to be suspended for more than two hours after another storm barrelled through bringing torrential rain and high winds.

Rescue teams said the woman's body had been found close to the start of the hiking trail but there were fears the man could have been washed out to sea.

A firefighter told MailOnline: 'That is a possibility, but we hope that maybe they are alive somewhere of that alive if they have died the body is trapped by a rock or some other debris.'