Search Underway for Missing Paraglider in Spanish Pyrenees

A 56-year-old paraglider has been missing since Saturday in the Montsec d’Ares mountain area of the Catalan Pyrenees in northern Spain, with search operations now entering their third day. The man’s wife alerted emergency services from Belgium on Saturday night after being unable to reach him for several hours, according to VRT NWS.

Conflicting Reports on Nationality

While initial reports from Spanish media described the missing man as Belgian, the Belgian Ministry of Foreign Affairs has told VRT NWS that the person does not hold Belgian nationality. The local Catalan newspaper Segre identifies the missing man as French, a detail also reflected in reporting by DH Les Sports+, which describes him as a “parapentiste français.” The Belgian connection appears to stem from the fact that his wife was in Belgium when she raised the alarm.

The Disappearance

The man was staying at a campsite in Àger, in the La Noguera region, alongside other paragliders from his country. Emergency services have confirmed that he left the campsite with his paraglider on Saturday, but it remains unconfirmed whether he actually took off. The missing man is described as an experienced paraglider with no known pre-existing health conditions, and his paraglider is blue in color.

According to Diari de Girona, the man had communicated plans to go paragliding but had expressed doubts about whether to fly due to weather conditions.

Timeline of the Search

His wife called emergency services late on Saturday night after hours of silence from her husband. The Bombers de la Generalitat and Mossos d’Esquadra immediately launched a search with drones and search dogs, but the operation was interrupted that night without results.

The search was reactivated on Sunday morning and continued throughout the day, both by air and ground, in what was described as an extensive operation. A helicopter was also deployed, but no trace of the man was found. On Sunday evening, the Bombers ended their intervention and handed the search over to the Mossos d’Esquadra.

On Monday, the Mossos resumed the search with a helicopter, ground patrols, and plans to activate drone units. The Guardia Civil was also asked to extend the search to the neighboring Aragon region.

Multiple Hypotheses Considered

Emergency services are working with several scenarios. One possibility is that the man flew further than usual and ended up in the Aragon region across the border, which is why search efforts have been coordinated with the Guardia Civil. Another hypothesis is that he may not have actually taken off from the launch site. Investigators also note that if he suffered an accident during flight, he could have traveled several kilometers, significantly complicating the search area.

The search area is described as very wide because the paraglider could have flown in any direction from the launch point.

A Premier Paragliding Destination

The Montsec d’Ares is the central sector of the Serra del Montsec mountain range, separating the Conca de Tremp from the Vall d’Àger. Its highest point, Sant Alís, rises to 1,676 meters above sea level. The area is widely recognized as one of the best paragliding destinations in Europe, with ideal thermal conditions and dramatic cliffs, and has hosted national and international paragliding championships.

Àger itself hosted the Spanish Paragliding Championship in the Sport category during the week before the disappearance. The region has also seen previous incidents: in May 2026, a paraglider died in an accident about one kilometer east of the usual takeoff area in Àger, and in June 2026, a 63-year-old British paraglider died near Tremp in the same general region.

What’s Next

Mireia Burgués, the mayor of Àger, said that “everything is being done to find the man.” The search continues under the coordination of the Mossos d’Esquadra, with support from the Guardia Civil in the Aragon region. As the operation enters its third day, authorities remain hopeful but acknowledge the challenges of the rugged mountain terrain and the wide area that must be covered.