Two dead and thousands lose power in Spain snow storms

Two hikers were found dead after being lost during a storm of intense wind and snow in Castellón at the weekend.

The two women had gone missing on Saturday along with a man who was found alive on Sunday by emergency services around the mountainous area of Tinença de Benifassà, according to the Generalitat Valenciana.

A search helicopter had found the man, who then helped emergency responders find the bodies of the two women. The man was taken to hospital, though the local government reported that he was in a "good condition".

"The government expresses its condolences for the death of the two hikers," the Generalitat wrote in a statement.

Elsewhere, more than 10,000 homes in Aragón and Navarra had blackouts during power outages caused by storms of rain, snow and wind in the northern regions, Aragón's government reported on Saturday.

By Sunday, that number had been reduced to 2,000 and on Monday morning, the local government reported that snowplows allowed workers turn the power back on for many residents, though 250 still remained without electricity in the mountainous town of Teruel.

Some of the roads in Aragón have also been closed off due to the weather.

On Monday, Spain's weather service AEMET put eight provinces on orange alert - meaning "significant risk" - for intense winds and storms. 

Many on social media shared pictures of snow-covered towns and landscapes at the weekend.

"Yesterday in 'Collados de la Sagra' town in Don Fadrique, Granada."

"This how the Palentina Mountain shines," wrote Somos Palencia from the northwest region of Castile and León. "Beautiful photograph taken by Darius Saia in the reservoir of Requejada Palencia."