Truck driver dies in serious crash on La Cala beach, Costa del Sol

A large vegetable delivery truck crashed through the railings on the A-7 coastal highway on Sunday, landing onto the beach.

In the latest accident on the dangerous curve on the A-7 highway, just past the town of La Cala de Mijas and above the beach, a truck driver has died. 

Reportedly taking the corner too fast, the driver crashed his truck through the protective railing and the cab and trailer ended up landing on its roof on the sand. According to one witness, the cab of the truck was virtually buried in the sand. Terry Buckler said he and his friend tried to help the driver, but it was too late. The driver's identity is unknown, but the trailer has Spanish plates while the cab has Moroccan number plates.

Buckler was concerned, as he said he had seen two people sitting in that area of the beach shortly prior to the crash. It is unknown if they were affected.

The beach is now strewn with tomatoes and green peppers, flung from the truck as it fell some 10 metres down. Last year saw a similar scene, when a truck carrying melons crashed through in a similar area of the highway, covering the beach with smashed melons and seeds.

Raw images taken at the scene are included below - all are copyright Spanish News in English:

40 injured as nightclub floor collapses in Tenerife

A section of floor at a crowded nightclub collapsed early Sunday, sending patrons plunging into the basement.

Image credit: Libre Diario @ Digital/YouTube

It happened at around 2:30 a.m. on Sunday at the Butterfly Disco Club in Adeje, Tenerife. While patrons were dancing and enjoying themselves, a section of the floor collapsed, sending people plunging into the basement, approximately one floor below. 40 people were injured in the fall. A performer on stage can be seen falling as the floor collapses in the video posted to Twitter below.

#CosasDeYoutube
El hundimiento del suelo de la discoteca Butterfly en Adeje (Tenerife) pic.twitter.com/VuLvlbl1OS

— CarlaxyS5 (@CarlaxyS5) November 27, 2017

According to officials on Tenerife, approximately four square metres of floor gave way, causing people to fall down into the basement. Emergency medical teams were soon on the site. The Canary Islands regional government said in a statement that among the injured were two British men aged 57 and 59, two French men aged 38 and 40, a 23-year-old Belgian woman and a 45-year-old Romanian man. However, according to Britain’s foreign office, they were in contact with several British national who had received injuries in the incident.

📹 Nueve de los 40 heridos por el desplome de la discoteca Butterfly de Adeje permanecen hospitalizados ▶️ https://t.co/kJqxGEKgiJ #Adeje #SucesosDA pic.twitter.com/KdlaHtoeyj

— Diario de Avisos (@diariodeavisos) November 27, 2017

The local fire department posted videos on Twitter, showing rescuers digging through the rubble with their hands. The firefighters stayed at the scene until around 6:00 a.m., searching the basement to ensure no one else was trapped inside. Other videos posted to social media showed EMTs attending to people outside the club. The video below clearly shows the damage to the nightclub.

21 people were taken to hospital by ambulance, while another person was treated at the scene and released. 18 other people made their own way to the hospital for treatment according to the mayor of Tenerife. Among the injuries were ankle sprains, broken legs and bruises. At least two people were deemed to be seriously injured.

The nightclub is located in a shopping mall in the popular tourist destination of Playa de las Americas. The Local reports that the Butterfly is a popular gay nightclub which features Go-Go dancers and drag shows on Saturday nights.

Jose Miguel Rodriguez Fraga, the major of Tenerife, said the club’s license is in order and did not appear to have been overcrowded when the floor gave way. The basement was unused and empty at the time. However we said all establishments in the shopping mall have been ordered to shut as a precaution, even though they are structurally independent.

Costa del Sol shaken by two earthquakes in 24 hours

The National Geographic Institute in Spain recorded two earthquakes in 24 hours on Tuesday and Wednesday at a magnitude of over 3.0.

Small quakes shake up the Costa del Sol - Image credit National Geographic Institute Spain

While most of us likely felt nothing, the Costa del Sol was shaken up by two earthquakes on Tuesday, within a period of 24 hours. At 7 p.m. Tuesday night, the National Geographic Institute of Spain recorded a quake with a magnitude 3.2 on the Richter scale, at a depth of 34 km, north east of Comares.

According to Euroweekly News, early on Wednesday morning, another quake was recorded in the sea off Torremolinos at a magnitude of 3.1, with a depth of 34 km. 

On Friday last week, the National Geographic Institute recorded a magnitude 4.0 quake south of Malaga in the Alboran Sea. This was followed by a series of five small aftershocks, measuring from 2.0 to 2.6. The Andalucia emergency control centre received many calls from Torremolinos, Malaga, Rincon de la Victoria and Estepona, but no reports have been received of any injuries or damage to property. 

Did any reader feel the earthquakes? Let us know in the comment section below.

Manager fired by Lidl in Barcelona for working too long and hard

A Lidl manager was fired in June this year after the company found he was arriving early at work to get things in order, despite not clocking extra hours.

 

Photo credit Wikimedia/Clemensfranz/CC BY-SA 3.0

A man named only as Jean P. lost his job in June this year for the sin of starting work early to get his shop ready for the public. The Lidl manager was arriving early to deal with orders, load up extra palettes, change prices and generally getting the shop ready to open. He was not clocking in early, so was not asking for more money from his employer. The company basically fired the manager for working too hard in ensuring his shop was running smoothly. His lawyer is now trying to get him his job back

According to Juan Guerra, Jean P.’s lawyer, Lidl had cited “serious breaches of contract” as their reason for firing the manager. The German company said the security cameras in the supermarket had revealed the manager was working additional hours. In April 2017, the manager arrived at the Lidl supermarket at 5 a.m., working in the supermarket from between 49 to 87 minutes before officially clocking in.

Lidl fires employee for working too much . At least he should have received some warning.... https://t.co/QFthEC7tym via @el_pais

— Fokitis Emmanuel (@fokitis) October 31, 2017

Lidl’s letter to Jean P. said he had infringed their edict that “each minute worked is paid, and each minute worked should be registered.” The company went on to note they had received complaints from other employees of the supermarket, saying the manager had suggested they also arrive early at work. Another aspect was that Jean P. was in the supermarket alone, which for security reasons is not allowed by the company.

Jean P. has been employed by Lidl since 2005 and says his dismissal by the company is unfair, hence he has lodged a legal claim against Lidl for reemployment. He stated that he has never made any member of staff obliged to start work early at the supermarket. He also stated that Lidl has never told him he could not arrive at work early to get the supermarket ready. His lawyer stresses that if his client did break any rules, it was more in favour of the company than the employee himself.

Ha eddig nem volt világos, a németek tényleg elveszítik önmagukat: Lidl employee fired for 'working too hard' https://t.co/YNxMyPpmgD

— Móricz Máté (@moriczmate) October 31, 2017

Guerra went on to say that strangely, his client is being punished for working too hard and ensuring his supermarket ran smoothly. He said the company had put pressure on Jean P. to reach his sales targets and that they are hypocritical in firing him.

As for Jean P. himself, he said he didn’t often work longer hours than specific, but said he was forced to do this by circumstance. Reportedly the supermarket had recently been restructured, leading to more time and effort to reach the required sales targets.

Sources: Euronews,  El Pais

Barcelona train crash sees 54 people injured, one seriously

Passengers believed it was a terrorist attack or earthquake when a commuter train crashed at the Barcelona Francia station early Friday morning.

 Read more: Barcelona train crash sees 54 people injured, one seriously

Spain arrests three terror suspects in Madrid ahead of World Pride 2017 [video]

Spain arrests three terror suspects in Madrid ahead of World Pride 2017 [video]

Three Moroccan nationals suspected of jihadist activities have been arrested in Madrid shortly before two million arrive for World Pride 2017 .. read more

Tens of thousands of weapons seized by Spanish police and Europol [Video]

In an operation dubbed “Portu,” Spanish National Police, working with Europol, have seized more than 10,000 assault rifles, shells, anti-aerial machine guns, grenades and 400 howitzers.

Europol released video footage of the huge cache of weapons on Tuesday, seized in several joint raids in Bilbao, Cantabria and Gerona in January this year as part of the Europol-supported Operation Portu. Reportedly the size of the haul was so great, it took the police weeks to catalogue.

A statement from Europol said there was a “significant risk” of the arsenal of weapons "being acquired by organized crime groups and terrorists." As noted by RT, the weapons stash was enough to start a small war or coup.

Huge firearms depot seized during operation Portu with Spanish @policia now revealed https://t.co/HBeE5s8eLo #firearms #EU #arms pic.twitter.com/SzynWvbGs9

— Europol (@Europol) March 14, 2017

The investigation stemmed from the weapons used in the terrorist attack on a Jewish museum in Brussels in 2014. The latest stash of weapons contained deactivated firearms, largely purchased legally and later reactivated. They were ready to be repairs and put back into working order.

The National Police say they seized five people in the raids along with €80,000 ($85,000). The criminals were reportedly using a sports shop as a front for illegal firearms distribution. Police also found a workshop, used to reactivate the firearms, along with equipment to create forged certificates of reactivation.

Sources: Spanish National Police / RT