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THE INDEPENDENT ENGLISH LANGUAGE NEWSPAPER WITH LOCAL, NATIONAL AND INTERNATIONAL NEWS
FRIDAY 11th MARCH TO THURSDAY 24th MARCH 2016
EDITION 546
“NEVADA” OPERATION SAVES THE DAY
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great idea proved a huge success when the weather turned very cold up in Tenerife’s mountains and Mount Teide was covered with snow.
In fact, the fall was so heavy that even the slopes adjoining it turned white for quite a few days. This sight is always spectacular and not surprisingly, thousands of people wanted to go up Teide to take pictures and to play in the snow. Unfortunately, fun and safety don’t always go together and because of the conditions, the access roads had either to be closed for a while or restricted. That is where Operation Nevada stepped in! To help visitors out, Tenerife Cabildo put on free shuttle buses to Teide and 3,863 people took advantage of the offer. President of the Cabildo, Carlos Alonso said it had proved a great success and praised the behaviour of visitors who went to see the spectacular snow. Thirty operators with the Cabildo had to spend hours clearing drifts from roads in the north. The snowfall at the high point of Izaña reached 135mm. The Cabildo has also thanked all the services involved in the snow operation, such as the Red Cross, Canary Urgency Service, Civil Guard, police, Titsa, National Park staff and volunteers.
SOARING TOURISTS BUT “NOT ENOUGH OFFICERS”
Safe Tenerife still needs more police in the south
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call is being made for more police and tighter security measures on the streets of south Tenerife following the soaring number of tourist arrivals on the island. Hoteliers and business representatives say one of Tenerife’s major attractions has always been its level of safety and there is no reason to suggest its excellent reputation is going to change. But they claim there have been more incidents in recent times and a number of episodes of isolated, more violent attacks which do have to be heeded. Mostly, the cases reported are pickpocketing or thefts. They want to see more officers on the beat, tougher penalties for these type of criminals and an easier way for visitors to report crime. At
the moment, they say, tourists face an “uncomfortable time” if they have to go to the local police station to report a robbery or theft with interpreters often not available and a long wait involved. This is not the image the Forum of Friends of the South or the Circle of Businesses and Professionals wants to give of the island. Both CEST and the Friends believe their are insufficient police numbers to cover the south of Tenerife and are calling for an increase in officers. This, they say, is particularly true in the main
tourist areas. President of the Association of Businessmen and Traders in Adeje and vice president of the Business Circle South, Jordi Esplugas said the work carried out by the police was “commendable” but there just wasn’t enough of them to cope with 4.5 million visitors a year. He estimates that police numbers are down by about 30 per cent on the maximum and feels the south has always “missed out” on the police raio per population. He regards one of the biggest problems as shoplifting with “true professionals” at work but he also highlighted a number of recent violent incidents such as the murder of a Granadilla businessman whose burnt-out body was
found in a car in San Miguel. Another person had been attacked in his own home in a case which might be linked to “whistle blowing”. He has told the Spanish media that he doesn’t believe there are mafia groups at work in the south but there could be a few organised crime gangs which have fallen through the net. The organisations also want a better system for visitors who have to report crimes, saying they often have to go back to the police station several times. More CCTV cameras are also being suggested plus a reporting point in Las Chafiras.
Patera intercepted off Gran Canaria
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NOTHER small boat carrying illegal immigrants across the Atlantic has been intercepted off the coast of Gran Canaria.
The patera was spotted about 27 miles south of Maspalomas in San Bartolomé de Tirajana. There were 25 people on board, all sub-Saharan, and two of them were women. They were brought back to the port of Arguineguín and checked over by emergency medics and the Red Cross. Six were taken to a health centre for treatment but were not in a serious condition.