News
Storm Gloria brings
winter chaos
Fatal accident
Two children, aged five and eight,
died and their 41-year-old mother was
critically injured when a coach
ploughed into their car in the Navarra
town of Estella last month. A 34-year-
old pedestrian was also hospitalised
after the runaway bus collided with 15
other vehicles before coming to rest.
The 36-year-old coach driver, who
was uninjured along with his 12
passengers, told police he had lost
control after a failure of the brakes.
Chemical blast
Three people died and eight others
were injured, some seriously, in a blast
at a petrochemical plant in Tarragona
last month which sent plumes of black
smoke into the sky. The explosion was
strong enough to trigger the partial
collapse of a five-storey building over
two kilometres away, killing a
resident, after it was struck by a flying
chunk of metal. Cataluña’s emergency
services described the incident as a
“chemical accident,” while initial fears
of a toxic cloud in the area were later
ruled out.
A 25-year-old British man was among
four people reported missing as the
worst weather for almost 40 years
swept through eastern Spain last
month. At least 13 people died as
Storm Gloria battered the Balearic
Islands, Barcelona, Valencia and
Alicante for several days before
moving north into France.
Hunting accident
Ben Garland from Wiltshire was feared
to have been swept out to sea after he
failed to return from riding his
motorcycle around the north of Ibiza.
Waves were reported to be up to 13.5
metres in height as wind speeds
reached 144 kph. Searchers later found
Mr Garland’s bike abandoned in the
remote Portinatx area of Sant Joan de
Labritja at the northernmost point of
the island. affected as airports, railways and roads
were closed by high winds and hours
of heavy snowfalls inland causing
power supply failures in several areas.
While flooding was reported in many
towns, the resort of Tossa del Mar on
the Costa Brava found its streets
inundated by waist-high sea foam, a
natural phenomenon caused by the
agitation of organic matter in sea
water.
In Almería one man was killed by
hailstones while a body was found in
an Alicante river. In Valencia a
homeless man died in the cold, and
another fatality was recorded in Alcoy
when heavy rainfall caused a building
to collapse. Locally, the coast received heavy
rainfall although a light covering snow
was reported from Mijas, On January
23, the city of Málaga woke to an
unusual covering of white caused by a
heavy hailstorm.
On January 21, Madrid declared a
“climate emergency” while the Foreign
Office in London issue an “extreme
risk” warning to British tourists in eight
Spanish provinces. Others, including
Granada, were reported to be on “high
alert.” The UK meteorological office
warned of dangerous conditions in
southern France.
As Soltalk went to press, municipalities
were assessing the trail of damage and
destruction left in the wake of the
severe weather, and how much repairs
are likely to cost. Storm Gloria is set to
be confirmed as the worst in Spain
since 1982.
Infrastructure and transport were badly
9
A man in his 60s died last month in
Ourense after being shot accidently by
his hunting partner. The pair had
been searching for wild boar, a sport
which is legal for licensed firearms
holders. The victim was transferred to
hospital by helicopter but found to be
dead on arrival.
Airport fire
Alicante airport was closed for almost
24 hours last month after fire broke
out in the roof. Fire crews battled the
huge blaze at Spain’s fifth largest
airport as passengers and staff were
evacuated. Dense black smoke
billowed over the airport while around
half the flights scheduled to arrive or
depart during the emergency were
cancelled or rerouted to Murcia or
Valencia.
Días probe
A former CEO of the Días
supermarket chain is under
investigation for allegedly inflating the
chain’s profits in 2017. Ricardo Curras
is thought to have over-reported pre-
tax profits to boost his bonus, and,
along with an external KPMG auditor,
has been ordered to appear in court.
The company is reported to have lost
€429.7 million in the first half of last
year.