A 49 year old man from the village of Alboraya near Valencia was found by a team of road sweepers on Thursday after his family reported him missing four days previously.

Firemen were called in to haul the man out of Alcoi´s La Batalla dried-up river bed. The man, who suffered a bump on the head as well as extensive cuts and bruises, has been taken to Alcoi´s Virgen de los Lirios Hospital where his condition is "fairly serious."

It seems that the man lost control of his vehicle as he was driving along the N-332 (km 7.9) and swerved off the carriageway and into the dried-up river bed. Firemen report that the man had written "SOS" across the roof of his vehicle in an attempt to help the rescue teams which have been out searching for him since his family reported him missing after he failed to return home on Monday evening.