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THE INDEPENDENT ENGLISH LANGUAGE NEWSPAPER WITH LOCAL, NATIONAL AND INTERNATIONAL NEWS
EDITION 498
FRIDAY 11th APRIL TO THURSDAY 24th APRIL 2014 PENING NEW O 6 PAGE 5
Casa Azul in exciting space project
PAGE 12
Music festival true to its roots PAGE 16
PRAYERS FOR EASTER T
OWNS and villages throughout Tenerife are sprucing up the streets in preparation for Easter but no-one is quite sure how busy the holiday break will be. So far this year, the island has enjoyed good fortunes, with visitor numbers up on 2013 and the prospects looking good for the summer.
Many hotels have been enjoying good occupancy, particularly Puerto de la Cruz which set a Spanish record for February but some travel agents suggest many people will opt to spend Easter at home, especially the domestic market. This is put down to the continuing economic crisis even though president of the Canary Government, Paulino Rivero this week expressed his hope that things were generally getting better. Hotels in Santa Cruz have indicated that bookings so far for the Easter break are slightly up on last year and Air Europa is one of the companies which has put on extra flights to the archipelago. There are still concerns that generally speaking, the inflated flight prices at Easter are prohibitive. Whatever Easter brings in terms of visitor numbers, Tenerife north and south will be holding major commemorations, including processions, church services and passion plays, with some 25,000 people expected to flock to Adeje on Good Friday.
THE ULTIMATE BRAVERY
A
double drowning tragedy in the south of Tenerife has prompted shock and sorrow, as well as heart-felt tributes to a show of unselfish bravery. Two British women lost their lives in Playa Paraiso on the evening of Sunday, April 6th as they risked their own safety to help two young children from their family group. A third woman also jumped into the sea and nearly died but she was revived after suffering a cardiac arrest. A full investigation is under-way to determine exactly what happened but the fatalities show the tremendous power of the sea, even when conditions
appear ideal. There are currents across the island which are very deceiving and all tourists have been asked to take extra special care. At the time of the tragedy, weather conditions here were perfect with total blue sky, hot sunshine and only a mild breeze. The two women who died have been named as Barathe Ravikumar, aged 39, and Uma Ramalingam, who was 42, a consultant obstetrician from Altrincham in Cheshire. The third woman who tried
to help in the rescue was aged 38. Efforts to revive the other two women failed. Both children, aged ten and 14, survived. The younger one was taken to hospital suffering from hypothermia whilst the other received treatment at the scene for mild cuts and bruises. Horrified onlookers on the beach used their mobile phones to call the emergency services which included the rescue helicopter, police, Civil Guard, fire crews and SUC. It is understood other tourists and resort staff also helped in the rescue The 1-1-2 service reported that when they received the call, the five were already in
the water but it is thought the children were knocked into the ocean off rocks by a large wave and the three women jumped in to save them. The woman who survived was plucked to safety by the helicopter rescue crew who performed CPR when back on land.
Let us vote! T
HE date on which test oil drilling is likely to start in the waters of the Canary Islands is looming ever closer but the call for a referendum is as loud as ever.
Appeals to the High Court for a suspension of Repsol’s plans were due to be heard on April 1st but the case has been adjourned for at least 20 days to await more environmental papers. The test wells would be sunk off the coast of Fuerteventura and Lanzarote and both Cabildos have alleged duplicity, claiming important documents have “vanished” and have been deliberately hidden. This has been strenuously denied by the Ministry of Industry. In Lanzarote, the latest protest march saw 15,000 people take to the streets, with president Mario Cabrera reiterating: “We do not want oil drilling in our waters!” The Canary Government has renewed its call for a referendum and claims Spain is required to oblige by law to the request. It claims the Ministry will not even discuss the request.