The
OLIVE PRESS
Mijas Costa FREE
ANDALUCÍA
Your expat
voice in Spain
Vol. 13 Issue 351 www.theolivepress.es September 2nd - September 15th 2020 DESTROYED: Laguna village
Black lagoon
Parents divided EXPAT parents are completely split over whether it is the right time for children to return to school, an Olive Press reader survey shows that mums and dads are unsure whether September is too soon to send pupils back to the classroom. In our online poll, we asked readers to share how they felt about schools reopening for the first time since March. Exactly half said they were happy for their children to be back with their teachers and peers while the rest wanted a vaccine before they let their sons and daughters return.
Uncertainty
Photos by Greg Brennan and Kevin Airey
And while not all parents want to keep their little ones at home, 56% said that they did not feel their child would be safe on their return. A whopping 83% agreed that social distancing would be impossible to maintain in the classrooms and 78% thought all children should be made to wear masks at school. Ominously, just 28% of parents said it was likely that pupils would be able to complete a full school year. Spanish education officials have for weeks been debating how to get pupils safely back to school this month for in-person classes. Don’t miss our Back to School special inside:
INCINERATED: All that remains of Puro Beach after the devastating blaze
Luxury commercial centre gutted in weekend wildfire
How Olive Press columnist beat the big C with a helping hand from her hubby. See page 23
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Love beats cancer
SCORCHED and charred, this is the devastation left by a ravaging wildfire that left a popular Costa del Sol commercial centre in ashes. Estepona’s Laguna Village which housed around 20 shops and restaurants - was completely gutted by the dramatic blaze, which ripped through it in little over an hour on Saturday. Eerie photographs show the moment the flames took hold, as intense weather conditions propelled a mega-blaze from nearby scruTHE SKY bland across DOCTOR the busy A-7 ALL AREAS COVERED motorway. Meanwhile, dramatic vid4G UNLIMITED eos showed INTERNET the moment IDEAL FOR that families, STREAMING TV many eating ALSO IPTV, lunch, rushed SATELLITE TV out in panic, some screamtel: (0034) 952 763 840 ing for their info@theskydoctor.com children. www.theskydoctor.com According to
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By Kirsty McKenzie
neighbours the fire began close to the former Prado World waterpark, leaving burnt-out fields covered in ash, a charred electricity line and the rubble of destroyed homes. On top of the hill overlooking the motorway, a finca crumbled, blackened with soot.
Culprits
Exhausted firefighters had to work through the night after the out-of-control fire tore down both sides of the A-7 motorway, leaving a path of destruction in the Rio Padron area. A couple have now been charged with gross negligence, property damage and theft, after they allegedly caused the fire by illegally tapping into overhead electricity cables. The Spanish man and woman, 43 and 51, had been living in a shack close to the motorway, near a riding stables. Police revealed that the fire was most likely caused when an electrical appliance malfunctioned in their home, causing a See page 5 & 22 spark to start the fire.
Tel: 952 147 834 TM
See Gone in a Flash on page 5