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ISSUE NO. 1520
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Bank lending increases BANKS in Malaga Province have started lending a little more to small businesses and families. In the first half of the year the banks lent €356 million, which is an increase on the same period last year.
Your move THE First Almuñecar Chess Tournament is to be held on Saturday at Hotel Helios from 4.30pm until 8.30pm. The tournament is open to all categories and players are to participate in seven different rounds.
Paddle champs JAVI RUIZ and Peli Espejo are the winners of the male category in the 16th International Paddle Tennis Tournament in Almuñecar after beating Hector Perona and Limones in two sets, 6-2 and 6-4.
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21 - 27 AUGUST 2014
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Guests evacuated in massive hotel fire AN Almuñecar hotel had to be evacuated due to a massive fire. The flames scorched one of the halls and caused extensive damage but fortunately no human lives were lost. The alarm was raised at 4.15am last Friday when a call was made to the 112 emergency phone number reporting that a roaring fire had started at Hotel Carmen on Avenida Europa next to Parque El Majuelo in Almuñecar. Three firefighters arrived on the scene to extinguish the flames, but had to call for reinforcements given the scale of the blaze. Local Police and the Guardia Civil were also deployed. Firefighters ordered hotel guests to evacuate the premises to prevent the loss of human life and battled the flames for nearly two hours. “We realised the fire was actually concentrated in a 300-square-metre hall, so we put it out through the
windows. It took us 40 minutes to bring it under control but almost two hours to extinguish it,” one firefighter told the media. Hotel guests were allowed to return to their rooms after the fire had been put out, though some of them had to be attended to by paramedics for smoke inhalation. “Fortunately, nobody was hurt and it was just a big scare,” said hotel spokesperson Manolo Campos.
The smoke spread to the hallways and the hotel will now have to determine how much it will cost to repair the damage caused by the flames, said Campos. Although the exact cause of the blaze is yet to be determined, the hotel is not ruling out any possibilities. “It is surprising that the fire should break out on the first floor as it started in an area where there is nothing that could create
a spark. One may think it was arson, but it is too soon to spectulate,” Manos commented. Guardia Civil and municipal technicians are investigating.
Overhead cables to come down VELEZ-MALAGA Council is to remove overhead cables from the historic city centre. The local authority has stated that the project will start in the next few days in La Villa and Arroyo de San Sebastian, specifically on Calle Real, Calle Murallas Altas, San Francisco and near Fuente de Fernando VI. “This will not only solve an aesthetic but also a safety problem. Cables in areas with the largest number of problems are to be moved underground,” said Urban Planning, Infrastructure and Services Councillor Concepcion Labao. The total cost of the project is estimated at €80,000 and is to be funded by the Urban Initiative De Toda La Villa.