Bus crashes
A spectacular road accident in the centre of
Málaga last month damaged a dozen
parked cars and motorcycles when a local
bus mounted the pavement. The incident
in calle Héroe de Sostoa is reported to have
been caused by the bus driver suffering a
heart attack and losing control of the
vehicle. His 13 passengers were treated for
minor injuries and no pedestrians were
reported to have been involved.
Drugs suspects
Seven people were detained in Nerja and
Torrox early last month during a police
operation against drugs trafficking. At least
five homes were raided and quantities of
cocaine and hashish seized, along with cash.
More than 30 officers were involved in the
early morning operation against a
distribution gang whose activities are
reported to have been monitored by the
Guardia Civil for several months.
Safe bathing
Nerja Town Hall has published the latest
analysis of sea water in the municipality
from readings taken on April 1. It says the
samples taken at five locations along the
coast by teams from the regional
government returned readings for harmful
bacteria which are “much lower than the
maximum allowed.” The highest readings
were found at the beach below the Parador
Hotel although these were still well within
the acceptable levels.
Nerja health
Nerja is to develop a Local Health Plan to
develop prevention, protection and
promotion of health in the municipality.
The aim is for the town to be aware of its
health status and identify risk factors.
Numerous local groups and associations
will contribute to tackling the 50% of
illnesses, death and disability which are not
resolved in health centres or by
medication.
Nerja’s 60th summer
festival
Nerja’s annual cultural event this
summer has the largest budget ever to
mark the 60th International Festival of
Music and Dance. The season will run
from June 29 to August 3 and include
11 concerts, nine will be held outside in
the new auditorium the Jardines de la
Cueva, which doubles capacity to 1,700
seats. The other two will be held inside
the caves themselves.
The first concerts were held in June
1960, 18 months after the discovery of
the network of caverns in the village of
Maro. The inauguration ceremony
included the first artistic performance
to be given in the huge central cavern:
the Ballet La Tour de París performed
to the accompaniment of the Málaga
Symphony Orchestra and the evening
included scenes from Tchaikovsky’s
Swan Lake, believed to be the first time
in history that ballet had been
performed in such a setting.
This year’s opening concert on June 29
will feature Pitingo, the charismatic
singer of Spanish flamenco and Latin
soul, while the Mexican Carlos Rivera
will perform Latin pop and romantic
ballads on the closing night, August 3.
In between, there are concerts by
artistes including Estrella Morent,
Mario Biondi and Pastora Soler, plus
the Galician singer Luis Cepeda and, on
July 19, a tribute to the rock band
Queen.
The two concerts inside the caves will
be on July 26 featuring the dancer
Rocío Molina, and on July 27 when the
Concerto Málaga will perform under
composer and conductor José
Serebrier. The budget this year is
€600,000, of which €290,000 is
coming from the Foundation which
manages the caves complex, and the
remainder from World Group
Management SA. Tickets are available
on line, and can also be purchased at
the Caves and at the Museum of Nerja
in the town centre.
Compensation received
for hotel death
The family of a Málaga man who
died from carbon monoxide
poisoning in September 2017 have
received compensation of €320,000,
according to their lawyers. José
Manuel died in an hotel in northern
Spain while on a six-day tour from
Bilbao to Santander. Four others in
the group of 45 pensioners from La
Cala del Moral, including his wife,
required admission to intensive
care.
The law firm representing the party
said the case had proved the poor
maintenance carried out by the hotel.
As well as confirming the receipt of the
compensation for the dead man’s
family, it stated that a further
€100,000 for those who were injured
has been received from the hotel’s
insurance company.
The alarm was raised when a number
of the party failed to appear for
breakfast and could not be contacted
14
by telephone. The hotel management
used a master key to enter the rooms
where they found people unconscious
or semiconscious, some having
vomited and complaining of severe
headaches. One had suffered a cardiac
arrest but was resuscitated before being
rushed to hospital 25 kilometres away
in Laredo.
Also amongst the 92 people evacuated
from the hotel was a party of 17 British
school children from Cardiff who had
been hiking in the Cantabrian
mountains, all of whom were unhurt.
Nine who suffered from respiratory
complaints were taken to hospital for a
check-up as a precaution.
The Cantabria regional authorities later
confirmed there had been a carbon
monoxide leak at the Hotel
Campoamor caused by a faulty heater
which allowed the gas to enter
bedrooms through a vent in the
bathroom.