ARCHIVED - Murcia and Spanish news round-up week ending 30th August 2019

Pilot dies as fighter jet crashes into the sea off La Manga, minesweeper runs aground during the search and salvage operation, and the first Gota Fría storm of the autumn

The last week of August is traditionally a quiet one in terms of the news in Spain as for many people the summer holidays draw to a close, but in the Region of Murcia the last few days have been extraordinarily eventful, especially for those in and around La Manga del Mar Menor.

The drama began at 9.38 on Monday morning when an air force C101 jet crashed into the sea off La Manga as the pilot, Francisco Marín, attempted to pull out of a loop-the-loop manoeuvre, and it soon emerged that the pilot was an air force academy instructor who flew with the Patrulla Águila aerobatics squadron until last year. The beaches of Monte Blanco and Galúa were immediately closed to the public as debris began to wash ashore and rescuers arrived to search for the plane, and later in the day it was confirmed that the body of Commander Marín, who was thought to have ejected before impact, had been found.

As more details emerged some began to suggest that the accident had been caused by the C101 having become “obsolete” after 40 years in use by the air force, but the Ministry of Defence quickly dismissed the notion and pointed out that most important is the personal tragedy known by those who knew and worked with Commander Marín. By way of illustration, it is worth recalling that in Santiago de la Ribera in 2016 Commander Francisco Marín flew through a heart shape which had been formed by his colleagues, drawing an arrow with the flares attached to his aircraft, before getting down on bended knee after returning to the ground and presented his girlfriend with an engagement ring.

But there was more to come on Tuesday, as the navy minesweeper “Turia”, which had joined the search for the missing plane, ran aground in the shallow water and the crew had to be hurriedly evacuated. Immediately divers set to work to minimize the damage and save the ship. Rough conditions hampered the operation to stabilize the Turia, and by the end of the day at least 200 people were involved in the joint jet salvage and minesweeper rescue operations.

As the week ends the latest news is that around 60 per cent of the crashed jet has been recovered, including a wing, the tail and the cockpit lid but not the actual cockpit and the Turia remains off the coast of La Manga: the 30 tons of fuel on board have been extracted, but the operation to tow her to port in Cartagena has not yet begun. Meanwhile, the Patrulla Águila have begun training again in preparation for a forthcoming air show in Austria after painting a commemorative ribbon in the sky over the Mar Menor in memory of their former colleague, doing so, according to a post on social media accounts, “with pain in their souls”.

While the drama was unfolding in La Manga, though, a great deal of attention was being paid to the weather as Aemet issued an orange alert for possible “gota fría” storms of the kind which occasionally bring destruction and flooding to south-eastern Spain. After emergency protocols were activated all over the Region of Murcia on Monday it appeared on Tuesday morning as if the danger had passed, with the heaviest rain having fallen in Madrid and Toledo, but then Aemet prolonged the alert and on this occasion their caution was vindicated.

During Tuesday afternoon cloudbursts caused localized flooding as the Aemet weather stations in Abanilla, Fuente Álamo and Murcia registered over 30 millimetres of rain in just over an hour, and the 112 emergency services line received 121 calls related to 84 incidents, half of them in the municipality of Murcia and most of them related to problems on the roads. Fortunately none of the incidents turned out to be serious, and no casualties have been reported, but after people had dismissed the warnings as a false alarm the downpour came as a reminder that gota fría alerts are not to be taken lightly!

Among the consequences of the rain were the appearance of ugly foam in the River Segura in the city of Murcia and, unfortunately, the runoff of large amounts of potentially contaminating water into the Mar Menor: more on this subject below.

Murcia government spokesperson admits past mismanagement of the Mar Menor as water quality deteriorates

Ana Martínez Vidal, the official spokesperson for the regional government of Murcia, addressed the issue of water quality in the Mar Menor on Wednesday and stated, perhaps optimistically, that the recent increase in turbidity and decrease in visibility are temporary and will be reverted.

At the same time, she recognized that the management of the environment in the lagoon has not been good enough in recent decades, speaking in a climate of increasing concern over the water quality in the lagoon. The latest set of official data show that the transparency, turbidity and chlorophyll levels are all significantly worse than 12 months ago, sparking criticism that since the “green soup” scare of 2016 very little has been done to progress towards the aim of zero runoff into the Mar Menor from the agricultural land of the Campo de Cartagena.

But still the regional and national governments appear to be waiting for each other to take action. Sra Martínez Vidal stated on Wednesday that she is demanding that the national Ministry for Ecological Transition implement its Zero Runoff plan, while Teresa Ribero, the national Minister concerned, tweeted on August 24^th that “the majority of the protection and recovery plans are the responsibility of the regional government”.

On top of this, on Thursday, Antonio Luengo, the minister for Water, Agriculture, Farming, Fishing and the Environment in the Murcia government, stressed that help is needed from the national government, calling upon the Ministry for Ecological Transition to activate the equipment which he says has been in place for a decade to pump water out of the Rambla del Albujón.

However, this should not be allowed to hide the fact that over the last few years the regional government has talked of “green filters”, modifications to farming techniques and numerous other strategies, but little if anything has actually been done, and the regional government of Murcia cannot shirk responsibility. Members of the scientific committee monitoring the lagoon have constantly warned that action is necessary, not words, and what is needed from local, regional and national authorities is cooperation and a proactive approach to ensure that events such as the storm on Tuesday – which was not, if truth be told, a very severe one – should not be a threat to the health of the Mar Menor.

Fortunately the waters of the Mar Menor are warm following the summer and although not as clear as they have been in previous years are a long long way from resembling the "algal soup" they became during that difficult summer three years ago.

Los Alcázares Mayor complains of “badly built” 1.2-million-euro stormwater tank: Mario Cervera blames the Murcia government for faulty construction and insufficient maintenance after Tuesday’s storms.

Airport, tourism and travel news

Ryanair strikes set to hit flights to and from Spain in September: both pilots and cabin crew protest against Ryanair base closures in the Canaries and Catalunya, and with Iberia ground staff also set to strike consumer organizations are reminding passengers of their rights to compensation in the event of cancellations.

Flights between Corvera airport and the Canaries to start in October: the Corvera airport boss says passenger numbers are higher than had been expected despite concern over a decrease of 85,000 so far this year.

Former Corvera airport management company suffers yet another setback in the courts: the high court of Murcia upholds a 120,000-euro fine originally imposed in 2010 as Aeromur continues to meet with no success in its litigation against the regional government.

Contract for the preliminary phase of a Murcia-Alicante Airport rail link put out to tender: a decade ago there were proposals for a high-speed rail link to Corvera airport, but now a more modest initiative will create a railway station at Alicante-Elche linking it to Murcia city!

Other items in the news this week

San Javier burglar arrested after attacking homeowner with frying pan: the 21-year-old Moroccan is to be charged with seven offences in and around San Javier following the assault this April.

Mayor of Madrid village injured by giant runaway inflatable ball: the 30-kilo ball replaced a 200-kilo predecessor but still proved more than a match for the Mayor of Mataelpino!

Cartagena Mayoress expelled from the PSOE party: Ana Belén Castejón vows to continue working for the municipality after reaching a controversial power-sharing pact with the PP. As if to illustrate the point, she has reiterated her commitment to improving services and infrastructures on the coast of the Mar Menor, particularly in Los Urrutias and Los Nietos, after taking note of the demands made by presidents of neighbours’ associations in El Carmolí, Punta Brava and other areas.

The Mayoress and her councillors are appealing the ruling by their own party which effectively removes the ruling council from the town hall.

The future of the 2,700-year-old Phoenician shipwreck in Puerto de Mazarrón hangs in the balance: experts fear the remains of the trading vessel may have to be removed from the Mediterranean urgently as divers inspect the wreck and the protective casing in which it is enclosed.

Cartagena-based explosives experts detonate Civil War bomb found at Barcelona beach: the bomb, dating from 1936 and containing 70 kilos of TNT, was found just 25 metres from the shore.

Two failed nesting attempts by loggerhead sea turtles in La Manga: last month saw the first loggerhead eggs on a Costa Cálida beach for over 100 years.

Cartagena considers fines for not feeding pets properly: the proposals are under consideration as part of new pet ownership regulations while hundreds of dogs and pets await adoption at the local animal pound.

Removal of barbed wire concertina border fences in Ceuta and Melilla to begin this year: the controversial anti-migrant barriers are set to be modernized and improved before the end of 2020. Today there was a mass assault on the fence and 150 migrants broke through the existing fence.

Spanish inflation rate drops to 3-year low: the provisional data for August show a year-on-year increase of only 0.3 per cent.

Pets poisoned at dog-friendly beach in Bolnuevo: at least four cases have been reported at the Playa de las Moreras close to the Bolnuevo campsite and the Policía Local are calling for the owners of victims to come forward and report the crimes.

Robber found seriously injured on church floor after breaking in through the roof: the thief was found bleeding on the floor by the parish priest of San Antonio Abad in Cartagena.

Man dies while attempting to save his wife at Benidorm beach: the holidaymaker from Madrid rushed to save his wife, who can’t swim, from the Mediterranean but died himself during the attempt.

Grape harvest down by 20 per cent but Jumilla wine producers anticipate high quality: the lack of rain last winter has been compensated for by a wet Easter and recent showers.

29,000 euros compensation for kidney donor after surgeons leave gauze inside her body: the woman required two further operations after donating a kidney to her daughter.

Murcia and Spanish property news

It appears that most Spanish property market analysts have been enjoying their holidays during the second half of August and in consequence there has been little news regarding the sector of late – expect a flurry of activity when they return to their desks in September! – but on Friday the government’s central statistics unit published its data regarding mortgage activity in June, providing some more encouraging news for the real estate sector in the Region of Murcia.

In Spain as a whole the month saw a 2.5 per cent drop in mortgage activity, corresponding to the 9% fall in sales which was reported a couple of weeks ago, but the regional breakdown showed that among the regions to buck that trend the sharpest increases were those observed in the Comunidad Valenciana (16.9 per cent) and Murcia (12 per cent). The number of properties on which mortgages were registered during June in the Costa Cálida reached 824, and at the same time the average loan capital of 81,144 euros was slightly higher than the previous month and 4.4 per cent higher than in June 2018, resuming an upward trend which was broken for the first time in 15 months the month before, reinforcing the impression that a long-term upward trend can be said to be emerging.

In the longer term, the June figures suggest that the gradual upward trend in these figures is continuing in the Region of Murcia: the running 12-monthly total in the Region currently stands at 8,580 following an increase of just 5.3 per cent over the last year, while in the whole of Spain the figure is 10.2 per cent higher.

Similarly, the increased confidence of the banks to lend against current market values of residential property in Spain and the record low interest rates are reflected in the fact that the running 12-monthly totals are now 75.5 per cent higher in Murcia than in the spring of 2014 and 101 per cent higher in the whole of Spain!

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Images: Copyrighted Murcia Today, full or partial reproduction prohibited, other images as attributed on individual news articles. Particular thanks this week to @MarMenorKO, @alico22, @murcianico79, Nely Herrera.