The search of a tank by the police investigating the disappearance of Madeleine McCann will begin this morning.
Officers will begin work in a few hours at the Arade Dam, located around 50km from where the British toddler disappeared at Praia da Luz in the Algarve 16 years ago.
British police will also be present during the search, according to Portuguese media.
Vehicles and officers were seen at the tank site on Monday after reports of new research have emerged.
The investigation into the site would come at the request of the German police, who announced in June 2020 that they believed that Madeleine was dead and that suspect Christian B was likely responsible.
It is claimed that the convicted child molester and drug dealer used to visit the tank.
Christian B is currently in prison for raping a 72-year-old woman in the same area of the Algarve region from which Madeleine disappeared, but has not been charged with any crime related to the disappearance.
He has always denied any involvement.
The waterway had already been excavated in 2008 after Portuguese lawyer Marcos Aragao Correia paid specialist divers to check the site.
He claimed he was told by criminal contacts that Madeleine’s body was in the tank, but nothing was found.
A search was also carried out in 2014 in the scrubland near where she disappeared, after British police were granted permission to investigate by Portuguese authorities.
A German court last month dismissed additional charges of rape and sexual offense against Christian B who were unrelated to the McCann case.
He had been charged with three offenses of aggravated rape and two offenses of sexual abuse of minors in Portugal between December 2000 and June 2017.
However, the Braunschweig court ruled that it had no jurisdiction in the case.
Lawyer Friedrich Fulscher said the decision meant that the judicial authorities could not have jurisdiction over a potential case concerning Magdalene either. The court did not comment on his request.
A police car at the Arade checkpoint on Monday
Madeleine was three years old when she disappeared in 2007 while vacationing with her family.
Last year, on the 15th anniversary of her disappearance, Madeleine’s parents said it was ‘essential’ to learn the truth about what happened to their daughter.
Kate and Gerry McCann also scored Madeleine’s 20th birthday earlier this month with a vow that they would “never give up” on the search for her.
