Search teams have been spotted draining a well and clearing areas of thick vegetation near abandoned buildings as the search for Madeleine McCann in Portugal continues.
German investigators, along with Portuguese police and firefighters, are working in an undeveloped area of rural land a few miles from Praia da Luz, where Madeleine was last seen in 2007.
Then, aged three, she disappeared while on holiday with her family in the Algarve resort after her parents went out to dinner and left her sleeping in a room with her young twin siblings.
Journalists were kept away from search areas on Tuesday and a no-fly zone was in place, halting the use of drones, although some activity could be seen as teams used trimmers, picks, shovels and chainsaws to clear underbrush and debris around the abandoned building.
While working in dense vegetation, staff wore protective equipment such as gloves and hard hats, and firefighters and police were seen using a yellow hose to drain the well.
The Sun newspaper reported that investigators also plan to use radar equipment capable of scanning underground.
Television footage showed two Portuguese police officers guarding the end of a narrow path leading through an area of fields and bush with several houses and a vineyard.
There have been various reports that investigators will be examining sites where trenches were dug near the resort at the time of Madeleine's disappearance, wells, ruins and water tanks, and that 21 plots of land are planned to be examined.
The search is being carried out at the request of the German Federal Police in order to find evidence that could point to the involvement of the main suspect, Christian Bruckner, who is in prison for the rape of a 72-year-old woman in Praia da Luz in 2005.
He is scheduled to be released from prison in September unless further charges are filed.
German RTL journalist Ulrich Oppold visited Bruckner in prison in Germany. He said that if he were released, what he was most looking forward to was steak and beer.
Bruckner declined to answer any questions regarding Madeleine after discussing with his lawyers.
He told the journalist that if he managed to get out of prison, he would have to keep a low profile because he was so famous.
Bruckner described himself as “bekannt wie ein bunter Hund,” which literally translates to “also known as a colorful dog.”
Last October, a German court acquitted Bruckner of unrelated sex crimes allegedly committed in Portugal between 2000 and 2017.
Around 30 German police officers, including forensic experts, as well as Portuguese officers, are expected to take part in the search, which will last until Friday.
The Metropolitan Police said it was aware of the operation but no British officers would be present.
German investigators and Portuguese officers last searched the country in 2023 in the area of the Barragem do Arade reservoir, about 30 miles from Praia da Luz.
Bruckner, who was in the area from 2000 to 2017, has photographs and videos of himself near the reservoir.
The search was previously carried out in 2008, when Portuguese lawyer Marcos Aragão Correia paid for specialist divers to carry out the search after he claimed he had been told by underworld contacts that Madeleine's body was there.
British police were later given permission to search bushland near where she disappeared in 2014.
Last month, Madeleine's family, from Rothley in Leicestershire, marked the 18th anniversary of her disappearance, describing her as “beautiful and unique” before her 22nd birthday and expressing their determination to continue the search.
A statement from her parents, Kate and Gerry McCann and family said: “The years seem to be flying by even faster and although we have no big news to share, our determination to 'leave no stone unturned' is unwavering. We will do everything in our power to make that happen.”
In April, ministers approved more than £100,000 in extra funding for Scotland Yard detectives investigating Madeleine's disappearance.
Sourse: breakingnews.ie
