Horrified tourists find human leg and hip on beach at Spain holiday hotspot

04 September 2023 , 15:02

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The find was made on a beach in Gandia, Spain

Tourists on a popular beach in Spain were horrified when they unearthed a human leg hidden in the sand.

The grim find was made by a woman taking a walk on the seashore in the resort of Gandia, about 40 miles from Valencia in the east of the country. She spotted a strange object half buried by the sand and started to dig further to see what it was.

Realising they were human, she called the emergency services and a full investigation is now underway. It is feared the limb may have come from a male migrant heading towards Europe.

Police rushed to the beach after the woman raised the alert on Sunday afternoon and the area was immediately sealed off and guarded. Pictures from the scene showed an area of beach cordoned off by officers behind deck chairs on the beach.

A police spokesman in Spain said: "The leg had no fractures, the sea took it out whole, from the hip to the ankle. It was very badly decomposed.

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"The few remains of clothing and the material with which it was made indicate that it is a person who was trying to reach Europe."

The limb is believed to have travelled miles before landing on the beach in Gandia. It could have been separated from the body due to very strong waves when Spain was battered by a strong storm.

An autopsy is being carried out and DNA checked against missing person. A search is also being carried out to find the rest of the corpse.

Tourists have not been put off by the gruesome find as tourists were seen been gathering near the patch of beach. The leg has now been removed and transported to the Forensic Anatomical Institute of Valencia. It is understood to have had pieces of clothing still attached which could provide clues to its origin.

Earlier this year horrified beachgoers found the 'headless' body of a child washed up at a tourist spot, which was initially mistaken for a doll. The remains of the youngster, thought to be aged between two and three, were discovered on the sand at a beach in the Costa Dorada resort of Roda de Bera in the east coast province of Tarragona.

Rita Sobot