ISSUE NO. 1643
29 Dec 2016 - 4 Jan 2017
AXARQUÍA - COSTA TROPICAL YOUR PAPER, YOUR VOICE, YOUR OPINION
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THE BEST OF THE YEAR 2016 SEE PAGES 6 - 13
Mountain tragedy Climber falls to her death
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In the dark A CYCLIST who has been biking through Spain to raise environmental awareness says he has been shocked by some of the attitudes encountered on his travels through the south of the country. Former carpenter, Martin Hutchinson, who is now 55, believes the attitude of See page 2 those who live on the coast is “absolutely appalling.”
Hang fire THE wait for the new Nerja fire station is almost over, the council has announced. Construction on the new 3,631m2 station at the main roundabout into town from the A-7 motorway was com-
pleted almost a year ago, but confusion over who was to pay for a change to the original plans and budgets led to the premises remaining closed. See page 4
War of words A WAITER from Frigiliana has reported the Local Police chief and two Guardia Civil officers, who he claims beat him up with their truncheons outside the bar where he
WALL OF ROCK: The dizzying Tajo de los Vados.
See page 4 Photo by Alsamaz/Google
By Matt Ford A climber fell to her death from a peak in Axarquia while scaling a rock face alone and without safety equipment. The woman was trying to climb the ‘Tajo de los Vados,’ one of the impressive rock faces that rise adjacent to the N-323 road in the municipality of Velez de Benaudalla. According to the Guardia Civil, the victim, who was in her 40’s, had been using a socalled ‘via ferrata,’ a type of climbing route characterised by
a steel cable running alongside a series of steel rungs which form a rudimentary ladder. Normally, climbers would use special kit to secure themselves to the cable, thus limiting any fall, but in this case the woman did not and plummeted from a height of around 100 metres down the 280 metre wall of rock. A witness who spotted the fall raised the alarm, while other climbers in the vicinity said they saw something drop quickly but assumed it was a mountain goat. A Guardia Civil patrol dis-
works. The police chief told the press that he had arrested the waiter as he was upsetting public order by fighting and said he is currently off sick due to rib injuries.
covered her body shortly after arriving at the scene, describing it as “completely shattered” because of the impact. An empty vehicle was found close to where the victim lay, and a mobile phone plus personal effects were recovered. Two officers then donned safety gear and ascended the via ferrata to check for any defects in the cabling system that might have been to blame for her fall. It was also thought a second climber might have been trapped somewhere along the route, since the sport tends to
be practised by groups of two or more people, but the threehour operation showed she had been alone when she fell on Boxing Day. Early indications are that the woman was from Malaga Province.
Absent aid PENSIONERS in Almuñecar have complained that the day centre for the elderly in the town has been closed on a number of days in December whilst the centre in nearby La Herradura is open. According to the council, the problem is caused by a number of public holidays during the month as well as the fact that the centre is run by the Junta de AnSee page 5 dalucia.