Man dragged by river grating in Madeira found alive

Um man, who was dragged today by the water of a stream that he carried in a parish of Funchal, Madeira, following the bad weather, was found and rescued with life, said source of the Regional Civil Protection Service (SPRC).

In statements to the agency Lusa, Válter Ferreira, SRPC's commander of operations, said that the man was in a garage that was flooded following the gallows of the stream, and was initially reported missing, “but it has already been found and the means of help are in place.”.

The man was in a “difficult zone and is being removed”, he said.

The collapse of the ribeiro wall, in the parish of São Roque, Funchal, happened due to the heavy rainfall that affects Madeira following the passage of the storm Charles.

Madeira began to be affected by the storm at 21:00 on Tuesday, leading the Portuguese Institute of the Sea and Atmosphere (IPMA) to put the whole island under red warning, the highest level because of the heavy rain and wind until 06:00 today.

The warning then passed the orange, with forecasts of bursts in the order of 130 kilometers hours in the highest areas until 12:00, keeping the rain “sometimes strong” until 09:00.

Due to adverse weather conditions, the Madeira Regional Government has determined the closure of school establishments and non-essential services by 1 p.m.

Accesses to the centre of Funchal in Madeira are closed this morning for security reasons.

Closed are also the pedestrian routes, museums, gardens and farms, three cruise ships were cancelled and the voyages of the ship Lobo Marinho between the Madeira and Porto Santo islands.