ISSUE NO. 1659
20 - 26 April 2017
COSTA DE ALMERÍA
YOUR PAPER, YOUR VOICE, YOUR OPINION
Triple drowning Flood of immigrants continues
WWW.EUROWEEKLYNEWS.COM
Record Easter SEMANA SANTA 2017 surpassed all expectations across the length and breadth of the Spanish peninsula. This year has seen a record-breaking week, with over 5.1 million people travelling on 31,220 scheduled flights, and a further 14.8 million using the country’s motorways. See page 8
Street strife A POLITICAL spokesman and public figure in Albox was threatened and abused on his way home from work by a businessman accused of participating in a financial scam.
A judge has issued a restraining order against Francisco Sanchez after he intimidated Juan Pedro Quiles. See page 63
Family’s pain MIGRANT BOAT: With summer approaching authorities are gearing up to receiving more than 50 migrants a day. By Matthew Elliott At least three people drowned off the coast of Almeria when a migrant boat sank. One of the dead was a little girl, aged just 10, who was trapped underneath a cable in shallow waters. Another woman died while being rushed by sea helicopter to hospital in Almeria before a special underwater Guardia Civil GEAS unit recovered a third female body. Several other people are reported missing.
The girl’s body was found floating half a mile from the port of Almeria days after the boat sank during Easter Week. An estimated 33 people were rescued from the tragic scene by Spanish naval crew, helicopters and coastguards. One pregnant woman is in critical condition in hospital while the others, exclusively men, escaped unharmed. The Spanish Navy has now given up its search for the missing people. Just days later, on Easter
Sunday, another boat almost capsized after running out of fuel at almost precisely the same location in the Alboran Sea. All 29 passengers were men from sub-Saharan Africa and were rescued with no fatalities. Drowning deaths are rare this close to the coast but can be expected to become a regular, even weekly, tragedy. EWN has previously reported on how record numbers of migrants are overwhelming the Costa as senior police and charities sound the alarm.
Almost 1,000 people have arrived in 2017 alone. That includes three of the coldest months of the year. With summer approaching the authorities are gearing up to receive upwards of 50 migrants a day, with dozens more boats sure to sink or capsize. Internment centres are already full to the brim. Red Cross resources are stretched thin. The Spanish Armada is now focused on rescue missions rather than combating terrorism.
A LOCAL family has spoken of their anguish in trying to get justice for their sexually abused daughters. The parents of two teenage girls have waited more than three years for their ‘uncle,’ a close family friend, to be properly punished for his crimes. The man was found guilty of molesting and intimidating the girls, aged 13 and 16, for over a year. But unbelievably, after three years of trials, testimonies and extremely testing times for the girls, his sole punishment has been a restraining order of 200 metres. An appeal has been launched to seek a custodial sentence for the abuser. But that will likely involve even more years of pain and heartache, and the family’s lawyer is now seeking justice from the Andalucian government.