Ibiza Club de Rugby are Champions of the Balearic League. They remain unbeaten for the 2008–2009 season with an opportunity to gain promotion to the National League in the Spanish Federation. This is the first time in the 40 year history of the club they have won the league and marks a significant step forward for rugby on the Island of Ibiza.
It was late on Friday afternoon that the President of Ibiza Club de Rugby, Mauricio Paez, heard the news from the President of the Balearic Federation. Menorca and Corsarias were both due to play against Ibiza on 14th and 22nd February respectively but both teams postponed their games due to a number of logistical reasons. It appears late Friday afternoon Menorca conceded they could not honour the fixture as they are unable to travel with sufficient players. Corsarias are also unable to play and had forfeited the game during the week meaning Ibiza gain maximum points from both fixtures.
For the players this was a somewhat unsatisfactory end to a magnificent season. President Mauriscio Paez said, “All the players wanted to play all the fixtures and would have preferred to have won all the games, but we are very proud to have won the championship without losing”. He went on to say, “We now have to focus on the play offs in early May and work hard to gain a place in the National League, this is a wonderful achievement for the Island of Ibiza”.
Ibiza Club de Rugby boast a truly international line up with players from Ibiza, Mallorca, Menorca, Espana, Rumania, Uruguay, Argentina, Ireland, England and Wales. Their track record this season is impressive having played 10, won 9 drawn 1 and lost 0, with a total of 513 points for and just 57 points against. In second place their nearest rivals Bahia played 10, won 8 lost 1 drawn 1 with 588 points for and 90 points against. Ibiza’s record is probably one of the best in the whole of Spain and reflects a solid defensive platform and with attacking options from forwards and backs.
Whilst Bahia have scored more points reflecting their very effective back line the numbers hide some of the facts. Ibiza played one game vs Demonis for only 20 minutes each way. This fixture highlighted some of the challenges rugby faces across the Balearic Islands. Ibiza travelled to Mallorca (by plane) to play the fixture against Demonis and were delayed in the journey to the ground by one hour. A football fixture had been organised to follow the rugby match and the referee had to reduce the fixture to 20 mins each way. It may well have taken away an opportunity to score more points than their 0–16 win; earlier in the season Ibiza scored more than 80 points against the same opponents.
Added to the fact that two fixtures have had to be cancelled with insufficient players it highlights some of the issues the game faces, recruiting new players and more resources being allocated to football. It makes the performance of Ibiza all the more remarkable that they can attract and sustain sufficient club members to play and compete with the best across the Balearics and be crowned outright champions. The club are always interested in new players and welcome anyone who would like to go along and play rugby and at the same time have fun. Anyone with an interest please call Mauriscio Paez on 645871591 (Espanol) or Mike Blackburn 600897508 (English).

AROUND THE ISLAND

Free Fall
The year has not made the most auspicious start, according to new data released by the National Institute of Statistics (INE). Following significant falls in January, the February results continued the downward trend. In total there were 38,025 hotel nights on the island recorded during the 28-day period, a fall of 26 per cent from the figure of 2008.
Especially significant was the spectacular drop in foreign visitors during February, with just 1,177 tourists, down 41 per cent, recording a total of 2,953 hotels nights, down 34 per cent from 2008. Not surprisingly the decrease was put down to the global economic crisis.
More worryingly though, the statistics revealed that while there were ten more hotels open on the island during the month, making 33 hotels open in all, they employed a total of 323 personnel, 5.6 per cent down on the previous year.
Similar results were seen across the country, with hotel occupancy in the Balearics down 19.7 per cent, whilst on a national level results for the first two months of 2009 were down 15.5 per cent. These figures were despite a fall in price within Spain, with the luxury end of the market most affected. On the island prices of 5-star establishments have fallen by an average of 12.4 per cent, whilst the price of 4-star properties has been slashed by 5.2 per cent.
Once again the Canary Islands were the most popular destination for foreign visitors, followed by Andalusia, Valencia and Catalonia, although all saw a drop in the number of visitors.
A separate survey carried out by Hotels.com showed that Ibiza Town had the cheapest average price of hotel rooms during the winter months of any city within Spain, at just €28. Top of the list was San Sebastian with prices averaging €161 per night, followed by Barcelona with €109, Marbella with €106, Madrid costing €100, and Palma with €99.
Pepa Mari, the island councillor for tourism, reported a total of 96 hotels would be opening for Easter, as well as 315 restaurants, while flights would increase by 38.8 per cent. Ibiza Town will have the most hotels open with 45, whilst San Antonio will have 25, San Jose 14, followed by Santa Eulalia opening 8 and San Juan with just 5, although these figures could change substantially over the next two weeks.
The Association of rent-a-cars also announced that all of their members would be open over the Easter period, but that all would work with a substantially reduced fleet.
Meanwhile, there was some good news as the director of the Spanish Tourism Office in London, Ignacio Vasallo, confirmed that while reservations to Ibiza were currently down around 17 per cent year-on-year, the late bookings market could help to reduce this deficit. His comments came at a meeting with all the major players of ABTA, which included Thomas Cook and TUI, after which the president of the Hotel Association on the island, Juanjo Riera, explained that what was clear was that the quality of services on offer could not be lowered. He said a reduction in quality would only have a negative effect on the destination in the long term, and while the year would be a difficult one, it was essential businesses made the effort to keep the high standards currently available on the island.
Meanwhile, the president of ABTA, Justin Fleming, reported a return of many clients to the traditional package holiday at the expense of online agents, because, as well as offering competitive prices, there were more guarantees and quality.
All this comes as small business representatives on the island joined thousands of their colleagues at a mass demonstration in Madrid last week. A spokesman for those travelling said that although the situation at the moment was not too bad on the island, many business owners wanted to show their support. The march through the streets of the capital ended with all of the protesters demanding the resignation of Prime Minister Jose Luis Zapatero for his poor handling of the recession.

Increased Controls
The four hotel federations across the Balearics have pleaded for more controls to be put in place, to avoid the threat of unlicensed accommodation this summer. A spokesman said it had become clear that many residential apartments which remained unsold were being offered by estate agents to the tourist sector. The Balearic minister for tourism, Miquel Nadal, claimed, after a meeting, that he was dedicated to controlling the rental of unlicensed properties this summer, adding that tourist hotels and apartments created jobs, and needed to be protected.
It is estimated that around 30 per cent of tourists who visited the islands last year stayed in illegal accommodation, although the Hotel Federations put the figure nearer 45 per cent.

Income Falls
The Balearic Minister in charge of the economy, Carles Manera, claimed net income made by the Government through taxes would fall around 35 per cent this year. The worrying statistic has put all of the departments within the Govern on red alert, and ensured spending will be kept to a minimum. His remarks came as his department reduced their forecast for economic growth. Although the islands will avoid being classed as officially in recession, economic growth for 2009 will be just 0.2 per cent.
Manera said he would continue to fight for more Government funding for the islands; this as President Francesc Antich revealed his administration had been given a total of €2,800 million over the next seven years, which works out at a very healthy €400 million a year, - €100 million more than was granted in 2008. In addition to this, the president said, an agreement had also been reached to pay an additional €100 million which had been pending from last year. He continued by confirming that €30 million of this would be spent on purchasing the military headquarters at sa Coma.
Island president, Xico Tarres, was said to be happy with the funding, and promised the military building on the edge of the Old Town would also be bought with the money provided from the Govern. He continued that this would free up even more cash for further investment in 2010 which he hoped could include the purchase of ses Feixes and work on the inner ring-road.
Meanwhile, on Friday the Central Government agreed an investment of €68.8 million over the next six years for the Pitiusas’ roads. Having being delayed for several years the vice president, Maria Teresa Fernandez de la Vega, announced the figure to the great relief of the Island Council. Specifically, Ibiza will receive a total of €55.4 million, €50.1 million for work and €5.3 million to pay for expropriations. Formentera, for its part, will receive €13.4 million, €12.9 million for building work, and the rest for any forced repossessions the Council may have to make. However, while the budget of Ibiza will have to suffice until 2014, Formentera will be able to request further funds from 2012.
Although all of the projects which will be carried out using these funds are still to be finalised the front-runners include the San Miguel and San Juan roads, the ses Salinas road, Santa Eulalia-San Carlos, and the inner-ring road in Ibiza.
The Balearic Islands as a whole received a whopping €514.7 million.
Manera was speaking just hours after it was revealed the consumption of petrol in the Balearics had fallen 5.8 per cent in December compared to the same month in 2007. Despite a sharp fall in price only 53,529 kilolitres of both diesel and unleaded was sold across the four islands, a figure which continued the downward trend of 2008.

Tax Con
The Spanish Government prepared itself for an avalanche of claims as a British couple won a High Court battle which will see them recover over €12,000 in Capitals Gains Tax wrongfully paid to the authorities. Mr and Mrs Roy successfully won the case after a year-long battle. However, whilst their compensation is small change, the win could open the floodgates for claims worth in the region of €140 million.
The crux of the case lies in the fact that foreign European residents were being charged capital gains tax of 35 per cent instead of 15 per cent normally charged to Spanish nationals. The European Union challenged the Spanish Government over what it saw was a discriminatory law, which discriminated against European citizens. They continued putting pressure on the Government until it caved in and changed the legislation. However, until the Roy case it was unsure whether those forced to pay the tax would be able to recover the money. This recent verdict has proved that it is now possible, with the Roys also winning 6 per cent annual interest on their money.
Unfortunately, under Spanish law only claims less than 4 years old are allowed, and so non-Spanish residents who sold a property on the island between 2004 and December 2006 (when the law was eventually changed) are being urged to put forward a claim.
The company which successfully won the case, Valencia law firm Costa, Alvarez, Manglano & Associates believes there could be up to 10,000 Britons affected, as well as other European citizens. At the moment just 550 Britons are putting their case forward.
Lawyer Emilio Alvarez claimed “The court accepted that the case was so convincing that there was no need for it to be passed to the European Courts of Justice.” He continued “After winning the first case we are now able to lead other British people who were wrongly overcharged to reclaim their money.” Those who believe they have a claim can log on to www. spanishtaxreclaim.co.uk for more information.

Waiting Times
Ibiza came sixth in a national list of airports suffering the most delays to flights during 2008. The results, which were put together for all major European airports by Eurocontrol, showed those taking off and landing at the island’s airport suffered an average delay of 12.9 minutes.
Arrivals were slightly higher, with an average delay of 13.9 minutes, putting Ibiza in fourth place on a national list. Waiting time for flights departing from the island was 12.1 minutes, sixth on the national list and 37th in Europe.
Ahead of Spain on the list were Tenerife South, Las Palmas, Malaga, Palma and Alicante. Meanwhile, overall Ibiza was 33rd on the European list which was headed by Larnaca in Cyprus with 22.9 minutes, Heraklion in Greece with 19 minutes, and Tenerife South with 18.8 minutes per plane.
Eurocontrol finished off by listing the principal reasons for such delays, the most popular being technical problems with aircraft, and delays caused due to high levels of traffic.

Summer Strikes
The threat of chaos at the airport this summer moved a step closer last week, as the three trade unions on the island; CCOO, UGT and USO, promised strike action if the privatisation of Spain’s National Airport Management Consortium, (AENA), continued. A spokesman for CCOO, Mercedes Martin, explained that the buyout of the public company would mean all of AENA’s workers on the island losing certain benefits which they were entitled to because they formed part of a public company. These included the insular payment they are currently paid each week.
The protests began with a one-hour strike last Wednesday, although Martin promised more for June, admitting that action during the summer would put far more pressure on the Government to find a solution. However, she remained pessimistic about their chances of stopping the privatisation, claiming things were already far too advanced.
The action started on Wednesday when around 100 AENA staff took part in a one hour strike at 9.00 a.m. Minimum services ensured there were no disruptions to flights. Martin, who was present at the strike, argued that past privatisations, namely those of Iberia, Telefonica and the postal system, had shown that those who really suffer are the end users, as the product becomes more expensive and the quality is compromised.
She continued that if conditions could be guaranteed the workers would support the privatisation.

Don Danger
The Balearic minister for the environment, Miquel Angel Grimlt, confirmed on Tuesday that he would be asking the Spanish Ministry for Industry, (Fomento), to control diving in the Don Pedro area. Although a recent report showed there was only a very minimal risk of any further leaks, it continued that diving in the area should be controlled. In response to this report the PP representative to Parliament, Miguel Jerez, asked why nothing had been done so far, revealing that a total of 3,000 people had already dived in the area.
Grimalt claimed he was in agreement that some restrictions were needed, and said he would be seeking help from the Central Government to try and control the area. At the moment all diving schools on the island are allowed to visit the site, but this is likely to change very soon as the Balearic Government begins to crackdown. He repeated that he would have preferred to raise the vessel, but confirmed he would respect the decision taken after the report confirmed the risks would be even greater if the boat was taken from the sea bed.
Meanwhile, Jerez attacked Grimalt’s department, claiming the decision had been purely based on money and that the insurers of the boat had escaped the huge financial burden of removing the vessel.

Top Award
Pepa Mari, the island councillor for tourism, was on hand last week to collect an award received by Ibiza, voted best island vacation spot by readers of Condé Nast Traveller, the world’s premiere travel magazine. In the voting carried out by readers from across the country, Ibiza came out top of the list of favourite Spanish islands ahead of Mallorca, Tenerife, Gran Canaria and Formentera. Mari picked up the award at a ceremony in Madrid where she urged people to come and visit the island this summer.
In one of its editions, Conde Nast Traveller described the island as follows “Ibiza has much more to offer than the nightclubs and paella-and-chips package holidays normally associated with this Balearic Island. Leave the tourist trail and discover the hidden Ibiza of dozy provincial towns, restored farmhouses, unspoilt sandy beaches and remote rocky coves. The island, a paradise for walking, riding and swimming in clear seas, is best visited before or after the onslaught of summer clubbers”.
The positive news continued with two of the more popular travel websites in Spain, rumbo.es and eDreams, claiming bookings for Ibiza were up on last year. Virginia Barbancho, director of marketing at rumbo.es, explained that many Spanish destinations were benefiting from the crisis at the expense of international destinations. She continued that plummeting hotel prices, in addition to the fact that Easter falls in April this year, meant her company was hoping the island would maintain its numbers in 2009.

Educational Changes
The Ministry for Education unveiled the island’s new school map for 2009-2010 which is set to undergo several changes. The map divides the different areas of Ibiza into sections and creates school boundaries which will be used when deciding which children have priorities at certain schools. Those living closest to the school and with siblings already enrolled, will be given precedence.
Although no changes have been made to the municipals of San Jose and San Antonio, Ibiza Town has been split into three different sections. Zone A will include the elementary schools of Cas Serres, Poeta Villangonmez and Can Cantó. Zone B includes Can Misses, Sa Blanca Dona, Portal Nou and Sa Real, whilst Zone C incorporates an area including Sa Graduada, Sa Bodega and la Consolacion.
Santa Eulalia has also been affected and will now be divided into four different sections. Zone A will include the town centre, and include the schools of Sant Ciriac, Santa Eulalia and Venda d´Arabi. Zone B incorporates the area of San Carlos and includes San Carlos school, whilst Zones C and D affect the areas of Santa Gertrudis (Santa Gertrudis school) and Puig den Valls and Jesus (Puig den Valls, S´Olivera and Nuestra Señora de Jesus).
Likewise San Juan has been divided into three sections – Zone A being San Juan (San Juan school), Zone B; San Lorenzo (Sant Llorenc de Balafia school) and Zone C; San Miguel (Balansat).
Education Minister, Barbara Galmes, said the changes were to try and ensure siblings were able to attend the same school.
School registration begins this year on 24th April and will run until 11th May.

Case Pending
The courts of Ibiza closed the year with a total of 7,053 cases pending, 20 per cent more than last year. Of this total 4,122 were penal cases and 2,931 civil. This increase was blamed, in the main, on a growth in the number of cases which were not resolved first time round, and the strike of civil servants which took place over two months this summer and left a huge backlog of cases.
The four penal courts on the island started the year with a total of 3,009 cases pending. During the course of the 12 months they heard a total of 24,860 cases of which they resolved 23,931, three per cent less than last year.

Just Rented
Despite the news printed last week that the Playa Real de Talamanca hotel had been sold to Grupo Playa Sol, (GPS), a spokesman for the owners claimed the announcement had been made due to a misunderstanding. He continued that the hotel had merely been rented to the Catalan businessman, and that relations between the two companies were “magnificent”.
A spokesman for GPS, Diego Calvo, also confirmed the company had rented a further four hotels in Prague, as part of the group’s strategy to break away from sun and sea tourism.

Sold Out
The Irish pop group, U2, set a new record in Barcelona on Wednesday after tickets for their June concert at the 90,000 capacity Camp Nou football stadium were sold out in just 54 minutes. Fans were able to buy both online and via the telephone for the first leg of the group’s 360º tour, making it the fastest selling event in the history of the stadium.

More Flights
Ryanair, the Irish low-cost airline, confirmed on Wednesday that it would be operating a further two flights to Italy throughout the summer. The new destinations are Rome and Bologna, with both starting on 30th April.

Lights Out
The municipals of Ibiza Town, Santa Eulalia and San Antonio, as well as the Councils of Ibiza and Formentera, turned off the lights to all public buildings, squares and monuments on Saturday. The show of support to mark Earth Hour was made at 8.30 p.m. and lasted for one hour.
Earth Hour has transformed into the world’s first global election, between Earth and global warming. For the first time in history, people of all ages, nationalities, race and background had the opportunity to use their light switch as their vote – switching off your lights was a vote for Earth, or leaving them on a vote for global warming.
The aim by WWF was to reach one billion votes which will then be presented to world leaders at the Global Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen 2009. This meeting will determine official government policies to take action against global warming, which will replace the Kyoto Protocol. Earth Hour was the chance for the people of the world to make their voice heard.
Earth Hour began in Sydney in 2007, when 2.2 million homes and businesses switched off their lights for one hour. In 2008 the message had grown into a global sustainability movement, with 50 million people switching off their lights. Global landmarks such as the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco, Rome’s Colosseum, the Sydney Opera House and the Coca Cola billboard in Times Square all stood in darkness.

IBIZA TOWN
Spring Clean
Lurdes Costa announced a big municipal cleanup would begin this week. At the presentation of two new high-pressure cleaning vehicles, the mayor of Ibiza Town said the area would be subject to an intensive clean to ensure it is looking its best for the start of the season.
Town Councillor Juan Rubio claimed that the cleanup would take place in sections, with vehicles being removed from streets to ensure a more precise job. He also confirmed that the areas of Dalt Vila and la Marina would not be part of the special plan, as the Town Hall made a special extra effort to keep these areas clean throughout the year.
The company in charge of cleaning the streets, Cespa, has bought the two new vans which use water and steam at high pressure. This type of machine has been utilized to great success in Barcelona, and Rubio is hoping clean streets will encourage the general public to be more careful.

Additional Ban
The Town Hall of Ibiza is preparing to pass new legislation which will prohibit cafés, bars and restaurants from playing music until 10.00 a.m. Following the successful trial of the opening hours of the larger clubs which are now prohibited from opening before 4.00 p.m., the capital is now trying to further restrict the law as the fight against after-hour bars continues. At present bars and cafés opening up in the morning are allowed to play music from 8.00 a.m. However, a further two hours is set to be added to this, with no music allowed until 10.00 a.m.
The initial pre-legislation ruling was passed without the approval of the opposition party, (PP), who claimed the regulation was far too ambiguous and would affect those cafés opening up for breakfast in the morning.

SAN ANTONIO
Slightly Delayed
Work on the Denia-Ibiza gas duct moved inland on Friday as the work to transport the gas arriving from the mainland to the GESA central station close to Ibiza Town began. The original plans had forecast that work on laying the tubes in the water between the mainland, Mallorca and Ibiza would finish at the same time as the laying of the tube on land. However, due to a change of direction, which will ensure just 15 pieces of private land are affected, the land piping will not be finished until the end of the year.
The director general of industry at the Balearic Government, Magdalena Tugores, visited the island on Friday to observe the work at first hand. Accompanied by Mayor Jose Sala, they both visited the 4,000m2 docking station in Cala Gracio where the gas will arrive, and which will house the control station. Sala explained that the station would be set back slightly so a wall of trees could be built to ensure the visual impact in the area was kept to the very minimum.

SAN JOSE
Reduced Costs
The Town Hall of San Jose announced on Thursday that it would be spending €3 million in cleaning the municipal this year. At their weekly meeting the councillors voted in favour of the contract which will see Herbusa paid €292,000 a month to carry out all of the cleaning throughout the municipality, a saving of €18,000 on the total amount spent last year.
Additionally, Councillor Pere Ribas announced his administration would be installing 23 new rubbish containers, 32 recycling bins, and 12 bins for glass, the latter of which will be provided by the Island Council. Special mention was given to Cala de Bou and the outskirts of the sports centre in Can Guerxo, where Ribas said cleaning would be significantly improved this year.

Running Repairs
The road which links Cala Tarida and Cala Vadella, via Cala Moli and es Caló d´en Real will have a bicycle lane added to it as part of the ongoing work to improve the highway. The first part of the project will begin after summer, and will include the section Cala Tarida to Cala Moli.
Due to the substantial cost the project will be undertaken in two phases, which will see the road completely re-surfaced, and improved lighting. In addition a bridge will be built in es Calo d´en Real where at present the road forms a V-shape, classed as “Third World” by the Councillor Pere Ribas.
He continued that although the work could not be carried out before the summer, provisional repairs would take place to temporarily fix all of the pot-holes in the road.
Both phases of the project will cost a total of €630,000, €500,000 of which will be paid by the Town Hall, with the rest shared between the Central Government and Island Council.

SANTA EULALIA
Projects Underway
The Town Hall of Santa Eulalia confirmed work was to begin this week in s´Argamasa. The project, which will involve resurfacing roads, reconstructing many pavements and improving street lighting, will cost around €400,000, and is the biggest of all the projects unveiled by the administration as part of the Government handout to kick-start the economy and get people back to work.
The deputy mayor, Mariano Juan, explained that the urbanization known as s´Argamasa dated back to 1972, and had grown slowly over the years. This had made the task of pinpointing exactly which building developer was responsible for the pavements and lighting all the more difficult. As such his team decided they would take responsibility for making the improvements.
The project is one of three which began this week. One of the other projects involves a ramp being built in the San Carlos cemetery at a cost of €80,254. This will ensure yet another municipal property complies with legislation ensuring all public buildings and places of interest are easily accessible to those with reduced mobility.
The other work which began this week involves the resurfacing of a section of road in es Pont de sa Llosca which joins Santa Eulalia and San Juan, work which is set to cost €76,850.

FORMENTERA
Ecological Buoys
The environmental department at the Island Council in Formentera explained on Tuesday that it was studying the possibility of increasing controls on boats anchoring off the coast of the island. Currently there are ecological buoys installed by the Balearic Government in s’Espalmador and es Raco de s’Oli, with both areas subject to strict controls. These involve buoys being attached to concrete blocks to ensure no damage is done to the sea grass on the sea-bed.
Sources at the Council explained that it was looking to expand the controls to areas including ses Illetes and Cala Saona. They continued that many other departments would have to be consulted before the project was put into operation. However, the aim was to better control the coast, which in summer has to support a huge number of visitors.
However, the Balearic Government said it had no intention of expanding the number of areas where ecological buoys were situated. A spokesman explained that they were currently looking to install extras buoys in the areas where they currently existed, but would not, at the moment, be widening the net. They agreed more needed to be done to protect the area during the busy summer months, and pledged their support.

CRIME & INCIDENTS
Missing at Sea
The authorities were left fearing the worst on Monday after a crew member continued missing after a trip from Mallorca to Ibiza ended in disaster. The crew of four, who by first accounts are all Germans, set out on the 10-metre vessel on Sunday morning from the port of Andratx. However during their journey they suddenly encountered storms and waves of up to 5 metres. As a result one of the occupants was thrown into the sea around 15 miles from Mallorca and 30 from Ibiza. He was not wearing a life-jacket.
The other members of the boat quickly contacted Maritime Rescue, but no trace of the man could be found. A helicopter joined in the search which continued through Monday. The ferries covering the Ibiza-Mallorca route were also keeping a close eye out for the sailor.
Although none of the other members were injured, all were suffering from shock.

Fatal Accident
A 31-year-old Romanian man became the first fatality of the year on the island’s roads last Sunday, after an accident on the Santa Eulalia-San Carlos highway. The father of two lost control of his vehicle, close to the Sa Rota hardware store, at km. 8.6. Investigating officers believe there were no other vehicles involved, and that the accident was a result of the driver being distracted in some way. They explained that the Ford Escort had veered off the road, hit a wall and overturned. They suspect he was not wearing a seatbelt. The emergency services were called to the scene but could do nothing to save the life of the victim.
Meanwhile, on Wednesday a 20-year-old Ibicencan man was critically injured after the bike he was riding, a Derby, collided with a van close to the Miramar urbanisation in Siesta. The cause of the accident was not released. The youth was rushed to the private hospital, Policlinica Señora del Rosario, where doctors carried out an emergency operation. He remains in intensive care in a life threatening situation.

Fire Scare
A total of 27 apartments had to be evacuated on Tuesday after fire broke out in sa Font. The blaze began in the torrent behind the Lora building very close to Siesta. According to witnesses at one point the flames reached 25 metres in height, although the emergency services were soon on the scene and no injuries were reported. A plane based in son Bonet, Mallorca, brought in water to help fight the fire which was extinguished after several hours. In total an area of around 4,300 m2 of reeds was destroyed.
Madrid’s security representative on the island, Sofia Hernanz, claimed the cause of the accident was not yet known but that children had been seen playing in the area moments before.

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