A
privately owned light aircraft carrying nine people, two crew and seven American
businessmen, disappeared on a routine business flight from Spain to Algeria.
The
privately owned plane left Barcelona airport at 10:15am on Wednesday 10th
October and last made contact with the Barcelona control tower at 11:41am.
Approximately
at that time the aircraft would have been flying over the Mediterranean Sea,
just over Ibiza.
Radio
Nacional de España (Spanish National Radio) suggested that the light aircraft
may have suffered flight difficulties caused by bad weather and may have fell
into the sea just off Ibiza.
CNN
News is also reporting on the story and, at the time of writing the plane has
not been located. Let's hope this will not be another tragedy for the American
people to cope with.
PROTECTION FOR THE POSIDONIA
PLANT
The
Conselleria de Medi Ambient (Environmental Council) has finally got its wish
this week when the Spanish Government at last approved a project aimed to protect
the extensive sea-bed of the posidonia plant in the Balearic Isles.
The
posidonia plant, after years of constant abuse, is feared to be an endangered
species and, after various ecologists on the island expressed how important
posidonia is to Ibiza, it now seems that it will be protected by law.
"Proteccion
de Praderas de Posidonia de Balears" (Protection of the Posidonia Meadows
in the Balearic Isles) is the name that has been given to the new protection
programme which will start to function immediately.
Locating
the posidonia meadows, eliminating the deadly virus 'taxifolia' and a survey
of the most important marine species such as the turtle, dolphin and cormorant
are just some of the many activities that will be taking place between now and
2005.
The
project will cost a grand total of 1,000 million pesetas, with 50% of the money
being donated by the European Union.
ILLEGAL BUILDING
Just
as things had started to look-up for the islands environment, local politician
of the 'Pacte' organization, Bernat Joan, has got himself into trouble.
The
Consell Insular (Islands Council) has issued a complaint against the politician
after he proceeded to build himself a house in an Area Natural de Especial Interes
(Natural Area of Special Interest).
A
new law approved and actively supported by Bernat Joan, restricts all building
on rural soil and, especially in a Natural Area of Special Interest.
The
members of the political party 'Partido Popular' (PP) are demanding an immediate
solution to the problem and are asking the San José Council and the Consell
Insular to take action against Joan as soon as possible. In a recent statement,
a local PP politician said: "It doesn't present a good image when a politician
like Bernat Joan, who not so long ago supported the new law, disobeys the local
council while other people are expected to remain quiet and obey".
ACCOMODATING THE POLICE
The
36 families living in the Guardia Civil's (Civil Guards) headquarters are still
waiting to be re-housed after the building failed to pass an inspection earlier
this summer, proving that it wasn't safe enough to be lived in.
The
Federacion Hotelera (Hotels Federation) promised earlier this week to help in
the search for new homes for the Guardia Civil, who are now growing very concerned
about the situation.
Two
blocks of residential apartments in San Antonio seem to be the most promising
choice so far, even though the Guardia Civil would have preferred all the families
to live in the same block of apartments so that they would have all their officers
under the same roof.
The
Federacion Hotelera are negotiating with the owners of the two San Antonio apartment
blocks, which would be occupied by the members of the Guardia Civil for two,
and a half years.
The
families are hoping to move out of their unsafe homes during this month or,
at the very latest, November of this year. The building will then be demolished
in December so that a new modern headquarters for the Guardia Civil can be built
in its place.
CONSTRUCTION SITE SAFETY
Two
tragic accidents took place this week at different locations.
The
first accident happened at a building site in Can Canto where a 56-year-old
man fell to his death from the first floor.
The
accident took place at 12 o'clock on Monday 8th October when, according
to various witnesses, part of the floor collapsed causing the man to fall from
a height of just under four metres.
Even
though an ambulance arrived at the scene of the accident almost immediately,
there was nothing the paramedics could do to save the man's life because he
had critical head injuries.
The
second accident took place in Formentera only six hours after the first, at
approximately 18:00pm, when a 19-year-old electrician fell from the electrical
pole he was working on.
It
is thought that the young man lost his balance and fell and that the accident
wasn't caused by an electrical shock. The fact that he wasn't wearing a safety
harness or helmet could have meant the difference between life and death.
These
two fatal accidents are now being investigated by the Policia Local (Local Police),
Policia Nacional (National Police) and the Guardia Civil (Civil Guards).
Since
the start of this year five people have lost their lives in industrial accidents.
As
a result of these latest two tragedies, several construction workers and trade
unionists held protest in Vara de Rey (Ibiza Town) on Wednesday 10th
October demanding the installation of a permanent 'work inspection' office that
would be responsible for ensuring the safety of construction sites on the island.
The
protesters held a minute silence for the two men that died.
"DAY OF THE TOURIST"
Ibiza
celebrated its annual "homage to the tourists" with a special two-day
festival packed with activities.
Every
Ibicencan town took part in the celebrations on Friday 5th and Saturday
6th October.
Each
town organized a different programme of activities centred around the Ibicencan
tradition and culture.
Ibiza
Town chose to honour one tourist in particular: Dieter Ortmann, a German tourist
who has visited the island every year for the past 30 years.
Dieter
Ortmann felt very honoured to receive a special commemorative plaque from Ibiza
Town Hall.
Ortmann
took the chance to make a brief speech about his views on Ibiza: "The island
has changed so much over the past 30 years, so many construction sites and hotels
are spoiling Ibiza's natural environment.
Although
I have to say that Ibiza has improved in many ways also. Dalt Vila (Ibiza Old
Town) used to be very dirty and unsafe, but over the past few years it has changed".
Dieter
thanked the local councillors and said he hoped to continue visiting Ibiza for
many years to come.
San
Antonio organized a special session of 'ball pages' (traditional Ibicencan dancing)
as well as a large buffet of typical Ibicencan food such as 'orelletes' and
'bunyols' (sweet cakes eaten only on special occasions) and 'sobrasada' (pork
sausage).
At
first, the tourists found it hard to believe that everything was free but soon
they were enjoying an evening of Ibicencan dancing and food.
San
Miguel celebrated the "day of the tourist" by offering free rides
in the mini-train that took them on a scenic route around parts of the town
Formentera
also celebrated with various activities throughout Saturday morning.
All
in all, local politicians considered the "day of the tourist" to have
been a huge success, gathering holidaymakers from all over the island.
Some
business owners on the island did complain about the festivities however as
they believe the activities are the same each year and are considered boring
by the tourists. Maybe more planning and originality should go into next year’s
celebrations. |