Costa de la Luz
Two ships run aground as bad weather hits the south of Spain
By h.b. - Oct 12, 2008 - 9:47 AM
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Two boats both flying the Liberian flag, have run aground in rough weather in the Strait of Gibraltar. The 35,000 ton ‘Fedra’ ran aground and has now split in two at Europa Point. Witnesses reported a large white coloured slick around the wreck. 31 people were rescued by the coastguard on Friday afternoon after the efforts of several tugs to keep her away from the rocks proved useless when her anchor broke.
The second boat, ‘Tawe’ run aground on the San García Point in Algeciras, and has lost fuel which is reported to have already affected some 300m of the El Chinarral beach. The 22 crew remained on board the ship which is reported not to have been carrying any cargo.
Mayor of La Línea de la Concepción, Juan Carlos Juárez, lamented the two incidents, and complained that the Junta de Andalucía and central government had not learned from previous incidents.
The bad weather has also taken a great deal of sand from many of the beaches of Costa del Sol and caused widespread damage to beach facilities.