Britons 'missing' after worst weather in Madeira for 17 years

The Foreign and Commonwealth Office is investigating reports that a 50-year-old woman and 15-year-old girl, both from Britain, are missing after the worst floods to hit Madeira in 17 years.

Authorities on the Portuguese island said that the death toll after flash flooding and mudslides now stands at 40 with over 70 injured. They warned that this number was likely to rise.

Reports said that the unnamed woman was one of four British tourists travelling in a car which was caught in the foods. The Foreign Office says a “small number” of Britons are being treated in hospital but is understood to be fewer than five.

An unknown number of British tourists are currently staying on the island.

Portuguese naval ships with helicopters and medical supplies were on their way to the holiday island today, where violent rainstorms and floods have destroyed bridges and homes and cut off phone and electricity. The storms are the worst since October 1993.

Seventeen of the dead were found in the island’s capital, Funchal. Its mayor, Miguel Albuquerque, told reporters: “It is very probable that we will find more bodies."

Regional government Social Affairs Secretary, Francisco Ramos, said: “We are going to continue to search for bodies, we are waiting for the teams which are due to arrive... in order to continue working on the ground."

Around 250 people have been left homeless, the Civil Protection authorities said on their website. The new death toll replaced that which said 38 people had lost their lives, with 68 injured.

Television pictures showed torrents of muddy water pouring through the streets of Funchal, flooding roads, overturning cars and bringing down trees.

Winds exceeding 60 mph (100 km/h), high seas and blocked roads hampered rescue efforts on the island, which is located around 560 miles (900 km) off the southwest coast of Portugal.

British holidaymaker Cathy Sayers told the BBC that Funchal was like a ghost town. She said the infrastructure had been wrecked.

"The drains just cannot cope with the water that's coming down from the mountains - they are just overfilled with sludge," said Ms Sayers.