Spanish News Today Editors Roundup Weekly Bulletin Feb 23
FEATURED ARTICLES: "Spain mourns tragic Grenfell-style tower block fire in Valencia" and "Russian defector to Ukraine shot dead in Alicante"
There are a few domestic stories which are dominating the Spanish media this week, including Russian intrigue (beyond the death of Navalny), possible sabotage in a winery, a tragic teen drug overdose and a deadly fire with sad echoes of the Grenfell Tower fire in the UK.
It’s going to be a bit of a police-heavy, accident-and-emergency-laden bulletin this week, I’m afraid, but that’s the sad nature of what has been capturing people’s attention this week.
The worst fire in Valencia history
This Thursday afternoon, February 22, an apartment caught fire in the city of Valencia and quickly spread to devour the entire building within a matter of minutes. It’s not yet known how the fire started, just that it was around 5.30pm when the fire started on the balcony of a home on the seventh floor.
Firefighters are still working to cool down the building structure even know, but we do know that nine people have been confirmed dead, 15 injured (seven of whom are firefighters) and 1 person is still unaccounted for.
It is the worst fire in Valencia’s history and what was most shocking was the speed and intensity with which the flames spread across the whole building. Expert builders have said it is because of the type of polyurethane aluminium material used to insulate the outside of the building, which is extremely flammable. It’s the same material that was present in London’s Grenfell Towers, which killed 74 people when it caught light in 2017.
The apartment block was only built in 2008-9, but in those 15 short years the insulating material used then has fallen out of fashion because it is so flammable.
#IncendioCampanar
— Bombers Consorci VLC (@BombersValencia) February 23, 2024
Videos dels treballs d'ahir de @BombersValencia en suport al dispositiu de @bomberosvlc. Hui seguim treballant a la zona.#Valènciaâ¤ï¸ðŸ©¹ðŸš’ pic.twitter.com/uSdOAj8TCa
Around 450 people lived in the building’s 138 flats across two apartment blocks, most of whom managed to escape.
Valencia was due to start its famous Fallas fireworks festival this weekend, but the start of the fiestas has been delayed and three days of official mourning declared.
Teen dies from energy drink spiked with drug cocktail
This was the sad story of 14-year-old Ryan which gripped Spain this week when he died after drinking a lethal mixture of Red Bull, cocaine, ecstasy and ketamine in Madrid.
The story goes that Ryan and a couple of friends went out to meet up with some other boys they had met over Instagram. They hung around outside the metro station drinking energy drinks, as you’ve probably seen a lot of young people doing recently.
Except this time, Ryan’s drink had a deadly mixture of drugs in it. This was 2C-B, a powerful drug that is made by combining other methamphetamines. Within minutes, Ryan had collapsed on the floor, frothing at the mouth.
The anonymous lads from Instagram quickly ran away on the metro, while Ryan’s friends tried to revive him while the ambulance came. Unfortunately, it was too late.
Family and friends insist that Ryan wasn’t the type of person who would ever take drugs, and that the drink must have been spiked without his knowledge. But police investigations are leading more towards the idea that he and his friends had specifically met up with these other boys in order to try drugs for the first time.
The only fly in the ointment of that theory is that 2C-B is considered a ‘wealthy person’s drug’ as it has a street value of over 100 euros per gram. Considering that an estimated two grams were put into Ryan’s drink, it’s doubtful that youths could afford that much.
More likely, the exact mix of 2C-B was a cheaper alternative made using caffeine and other impure ingredients.
Investigations are ongoing, awaiting the toxicology report.
Intruder spills €2.5 million worth of wine
In another curious episode, a video has been circling the internet of a person opening a series of huge metal tankers full of wine at dead of night in a winery.
This was at the Cepa 21 winery in Castrillo de Duero in the province of Valladolid (Castilla y León). It was about half past three in the morning when the intruder broke in to the premises and deliberately sabotaged several vats of wine, spilling their contents all over the floor.
£2 Million Worth of Wine Spill
— Unlimited L's (@unlimited_ls) February 20, 2024
The CCTV images were recorded at the Cepa 21 winery in Castrillo de Duero, Valladolid, Spain, in the early hours of Sunday morning
The attack resulted in 60,000 liters of wine, equivalent to around 80,000 bottles and valued at over £2 million… pic.twitter.com/xDl5QZOgBQ
It is estimated that the unidentified intruder emptied 60,000 litres of wine in this way, worth around 2.5 million euros. Sources from the winery claim that the wine which was spilled were two of their most expensive varieties, Horcajo and Malabrigo.
From the way they were acting – moving stealthily through the dark factory and opening the complicated tanker door system with ease – it is apparent that the perpetrator had intimate knowledge of the premises and the kind of equipment used there. It was, if you like, ‘an inside job’.
Again, police are investigating.
Russian pilot assassinated in Spain
So we actually brought you this story in last week’s bulletin, in the Alicante section, but since then it has emerged that some of the initial details were wrong and the case is so much murkier than it first seemed.
You see, in the beginning it appeared as though the person shot to death in an apparent mob hit in a Vila Joiosa car park last week was Ukrainian, based on documentation found on his body at the time.
Now, though, police have managed to identify him as Maxim Kuzminov, a Russian helicopter pilot who deserted from the war against Ukraine last August. Maxim flew his Mi-8 fighter chopper over enemy lines and surrendered to the Ukrainian Army because, in his words, he didn’t “want to be complicit in Russian crimes”.
A big deal was made of him back then, and he was held up by Ukrainian propaganda as an example of a moral person, an example to Russian soldiers that they can put down their arms too. “I regret what is happening, the murders, the tears, the blood,” Maxim said in a documentary released by the Ukrainian intelligence services.
To the Russians, of course, he was “a criminal traitor”, and when Russian state television reported his desertion last October, the reporter announced that the order to liquidate the pilot had already been given.
Fast forward four months and Maxim is dead in the underground parking garage of a residential building on Spain’s Costa Blanca. A lot of Russian and Ukrainian people live together in that area, but no one seems to think Maxim lived there himself. Rather, he had been seen around shortly before his death, and people thought he was just a workman carrying out some sort of construction job.
But on Tuesday February 13 he was found with six bullet holes in his body, with a fake ID in his pocket, lying on the exit ramp to the car park, apparently having dragged himself there after his attackers fled, before succumbing to his wounds.
The gunmen’s getaway car was discovered shortly afterwards, burnt out in the neighbouring town of El Campello.
Ukrainian media has already reported the murder, attributing it to Russian hitmen. The Russians have claimed that Spanish authorities have not informed them of Kuzminov’s death and that it “is not an issue” that appears on the Kremlin’s agenda. A spokesperson for the Spanish government, meanwhile, would only say that “we must let the agents of the armed institute do their work” and would not let on whether Kuzminov had any type of official protection in Spain.
Murcia
We’ve spoken before in these pages about the prodigious thief at Murcia’s Condado de Alhama golf resort who keeps creeping through his neighbours’ kitchen windows and stealing their belongings. If you remember, he was very active at the end of last year, arrested just before Christmas and was back robbing again by February!
Now, it seems that the Guardia Civil have once again captured the “young man”, charging him this time with more than a dozen crimes of home robbery. With any luck, this will now bring to an end this very unusual spate of crime on the traditionally tranquil and safe resort.
Even better, the Guardia Civil have reported that they have managed to recover “practically all” of the stolen effects, including computers, bicycles, televisions and small appliances.
This week also saw the enormous planned farmers’ protest in Murcia on Wednesday February 21. Organised by the agricultural organisations COAG, UPA and ASAJA and following the Spanish tradition of naming protest days, it was dubbed ‘F21’ and involved the Murcia farmers standing with their Spanish and European colleagues to demand better conditions for agricultural workers regarding trade regulations, the use of pesticides and more.Plenty of people are sympathetic to the farmers’ plight, understanding that they are sometimes paid just a few cents for each kilo of produce while the supermarkets sell those same fruits and vegetables for several euros per kilo. Just look at the people who came out to the road sides to support them as they went past.
Whether or not the farmers’ associations are right to demand the return of potentially harmful pesticides as a way of increasing productivity is debatable, but what has riled some people up is the fact that the farmers keep blocking major roads with their tractors and causing huge traffic jams. That was the case this Wednesday in Murcia, when the farmers took over lots of major arteries in, around and leading to Murcia capital city.
Perhaps in an effort to appease the people, the farmers pulled a commendably astute publicity stunt – handing out 25,000 kilos of lemons, tomatoes, broccoli and cauliflower to the people. This was in the capital’s Plaza de la Cruz Roja, where crowds queued up around the block, with some people waiting for over an hour, to get some of the free food.
At the same time, other farmers threw their produce on the floor and at the regional government delegation building in protest and to try to get the ministers’ attention (even more than they already have) and have actually managed to secure a meeting with the Minister for Ecological Transition.
In other news, the Harlem Globetrotters – that truly impressive team of basketball players who perform incredible tricks and shots – have revealed they’re coming to Murcia again this year.It’s been two years since the Globetrotters were last in the Region as they missed Murcia off their 2023 World Tour (as their name suggests, they constantly tour the planet putting on shows).
The Globetrotters hold a series of world records, including furthest blindfolded basket, longest ever alley oop the most medium-distance baskets made in one minute. Now they’re going to be back in Murcia and other Spanish cities this May, showing off their unique basketball acrobatics to entertain and astound young and old alike. Tickets are on sale now from 20 euros.
Until then, if you’re around the Murcia area and fancy something to do this weekend, there’s loads going on. Feel like eating your weight in hamburgers? Do it here. Drinking wine while looking at furniture? Yecla’s got you covered. Listening to some classical music? In Águilas and San Javier. Free walking route in the country? Head to Cehegín.
This weekend is also the Mediaeval Moors and Christians festival in Caravaca de la Cruz, the Carnival parade in Cabo de Palos and there’s a craft market on in Santiago de la Ribera. Spoilt for choice!
And it doesn’t end there! See our EVENTS DIARY for loads more things to do in the Region of Murcia:
Spain
A certain brand of Milka Oreo chocolate bars has been the subject of a health alert in Spain after the manufacturers themselves found that they could contain pieces of plastic.
Specifically, they are Milka Oreo bars weighing 37 grams, with batch number OSK0934422, barcode 7622210718693 and expiry date 01/08/2024, which were distributed to shops nationwide. Anyone who has bought one of these chocolate bars is advised not to eat it.
Back in Madrid, the family and friends of a US woman who has been missing since the beginning of this month have launched a crowdfunding campaign to raise money which they intend to use to hire a private investigator to help in the search for her.
Ana Maria Henao, a 40-year-old Colombian-American resident in Florida, disappeared in the Spanish capital on February 2, though a couple of her friends were sent suspicious messages from her phone after that claiming that she had met a “wonderful person” and that she had gone with them to a country house two hours from Madrid where there was bad signal so she wouldn’t be able to contact them for a few days.The thing is, those messages don’t seem to have been written in the way Ana Maria would normally have written them but rather by someone else pretending to be her. At the same time, it was discovered that someone had tried to break in to the apartment building where she lived that night, and had blacked out the security cameras using spray paint.
Ana had only moved to Spain recently, following a “complicated” divorce from her Serbian ex-husband, and was supposed to be travelling to Barcelona with a friend, but never turned up. Her relatives still hold out hope that she can be located and returned home safely.
Also in Barcelona, former Barcelona FC and Brazil football star Dani Alves has been sentenced to four and a half years in prison after being found guilty of rape. The court found in favour of the prosecution, ruling that, back in December of 2022, Alves did force himself on a woman in the bathroom of an upscale Barcelona nightclub.According to the woman’s own testimony and those of other people present at the time, the football player held her down and “penetrated her” despite her repeatedly saying no and insisting that she wanted to leave. He steadfastly continues to deny the charges, saying that the sexual encounter was consensual.
Alves has been held on remand at Brians 2 Prison near Barcelona since his arrest in January 2023 and will stay there for the duration of his sentence, which he plans to appeal.
Finally, in the little Badajoz town of Don Benito, a priest and his partner, have been arrested on suspicion of selling ecstasy and Viagra.
Police became suspicious when they noticed people coming out of the couple’s house with drugs. Obviously, ecstasy is an illegal substance, and sidelnafil – the chemical compound colloquially known as Viagra – is only available with a prescription in Spain.
As well as serving up out of their own home, the pair also sent the drugs by post to other parts of Spain. After monitoring them for five months under the auspices of Operation ‘Botafumeiro’ (named after the type of thurible used to spread incense around Spanish churches), the Guardia Civil launched a raid on the property and seized around 2,100 grams of mephedrone; 3,370 euros in cash; two precision scales; and several blister packs of Viagra.
The priest has been released on bail while his partner is still in jail.
Alicante
That wasn’t the only man of the cloth behaving badly this week. In El Campello, Alicante, a 64-year-old parish priest was arrested for stealing a wheelchair from a disabled person in El Campello (Alicante) and trying to sell it on Wallapop.
The wheelchair’s elderly owner had just popped into a local charity organisation building and had left his chair – worth an estimated 1,950 euros – outside on the pavement. Shortly afterwards, a man was caught on CCTV wheeling the chair down the street… a man who later turned out to be a local parish priest who had no prior convictions.
Investigan a un hombre por robar una silla de ruedas de una persona con discapacidad valorada en casi 2.000€ e intentar venderla más barata en El Campello (Alicante). El momento del hurto fue captado por una cámara https://t.co/8NheNYHQfQ pic.twitter.com/qIFSIBMsMS
— Europa Press (@europapress) February 20, 2024
The priest apparently tried to offload the wheelchair for less than its market value on sites for selling secondhand items like Milanuncios and Wallapop, Spain’s equivalent of Gumtree.
We might give the father the benefit of the doubt. Perhaps he thought the wheelchair had been abandoned and didn’t belong to anybody, and that it was his lucky day. Either way, the truth is that it did belong to someone, and police have now managed to return it to its rightful owner.
In Playa Flamenca, Orihuela Costa, a fire broke out earlier this week in an area of scrub land close to the shopping centre and it is suspected that it was set deliberately. What’s more, three British teenagers were reportedly spotted hanging around the place shortly before the fire started.All three of them fled the scene before police arrived, and firefighters were able to contain the blaze quickly, even though the dry pine needles in the canyon created a massive wall of flames nearly 10 metres wide.
The build-up of rubbish in the surrounding nature reserve, mainly due to gatherings of youngsters and visitors to a nearby cannabis social club, mean that the fire risk in the area becomes even more severe. There were two other fires in the area within a short period of time.
Investigations will follow, with community pressure to clean up the place helping, but there is still the possibility that this wasn’t a case of arson but rather a simple accident, perhaps caused by a cigarette butt that wasn’t put out properly.
Further north, l'Alfàs del Pi said goodbye to a beloved local character, the Norwegian sociologist and expert in mediation and conflict resolution, Johan Galtung. Johan had been a consultant for the United Nations as an international conflict mediator and had authored more than 150 books and 1,600 articles translated into more than 30 languages, but mostly he will be remembered by the people of this Alicante town for being one of its biggest cheerleaders.
He first came to l'Alfàs del Pi from Oslo in 1960, and soon bought a second home there, regularly visiting and expounding to anyone who would listen how amazing a place it is. l'Alfàs has a large Norwegian population and Johan would stop to rest there whenever his busy schedule allowed him to do so, calling it “a city of peace and an example of coexistence”.
That is in line with his life’s work, which was dedicated to finding peaceful solutions to world problems. “We have neither money nor bombs, but we do have the strength of good ideas,” he once said, urging people “to work harder until we convince with the strength of good ideas.”
There is even a park named after Johan in l'Alfàs, the Johan Galtung Peace Park, which is located just in front of the Norwegian Cultural Centre and where the sculpture Paraboloid by Agustín Ibarrola stands in memory of the victims and relatives of the terrorist attack committed on July 22, 2011 in Oslo and Utoya.
Johan Vincent Galtung (October 24, 1930-February 17, 2024). Rest in peace.
Andalucía
Have you ever seen one of those beer bikes riding round city streets? You know, those strange-looking vehicles that are like a massive tuk-tuk with open sides, a table in the middle and several sets of pedals for people to sit on the back drinking beer and cycling while someone else steers. Particularly popular with stag dos in Prague and Dublin.Well, one of them was shut down in Málaga recently after it was found to be operating without a valid licence and causing a danger to other road users. Beer bikes are supposed to hold the same licences as any bar or restaurant but the company that owns the beer bike in question, Ecotandem Bike, S.L.U., did not have the relevant authorisation, though it did possess a declaration of responsibility for the rental of bicycles and for the sale of alcohol.
What’s more, it was judged to be a risk to other road users because it had no rear-view mirrors and no backrests for the cyclists, so they were in danger of falling off. While that one bike has been put out of action, others still remain on the streets. But the whole thing makes you wonder, why are they allowed on the roads anyway? They’re too slow to keep up with other traffic, too big to go in cycle lanes and, while the person steering the vehicle may not be under the influence, they are generally full of raucous party people bent on getting blotto.
Lots of animal news coming out of Andalucía this week, including that of a boa constrictor that was found on a Málaga golf course. Measuring 2.30 metres long, the massive boa was spotted by a group of cyclists who quickly called the police.
Although it seemed a bit confused and lethargic the whole time, police called in an expert reptile handler to help, just in case, and have now transferred it to the Málaga Municipal Animal Protection Centre. It is not yet known how the snake got there, but the main hypothesis is that she was abandoned by her owner.
#Vídeo | Capturan una serpiente boa de 2,30 metros de longitud en Málaga
— EFEverde (@EFEverde) February 20, 2024
El animal fue descubierto por unos ciclistas en una zona cercana al Real Guadalhorce Club de Golf,y les sorprendió las grandes dimensiones de la serpiente
IMÁGENES FACILITADAS POR LA POLICÍA LOCAL DE MÁLAGA pic.twitter.com/4qObo2NqfI
Over in Almería, an animal rescue shelter has been shut down for mistreating over 100 dogs they had there which they were supposed to be caring for and finding safe new homes for.
The poor animals were living in what were described in a police statement as “deplorable conditions” and showed “significant signs” of malnutrition. In fact, the lady who ran the dog shelter, located in the town of Antas, had already been investigated several times in Almería and Málaga for similar crimes, as well as for allegedly stealing two dogs.
Her main sources of income were donations that she received from unsuspecting, well-meaning donors and from selling the dogs, mainly to buyers in other European countries, for around 500 euros each. In this way, she apparently sold around 150 dogs a year.
Now, all the animals in the facility have been taken to other animal protection associations in Andalucía to be cared for properly, while the owner will have to appear in court.
Finally, elsewhere in Almería, an incredibly rare ostrich egg went missing from a zoo and conservation centre. The Oasys MiniHollywood theme park in the Tabernas desert of Almería has been wowing audiences with its mix of exotic animals and Wild West attractions for over 25 years now, and is actually one of the few conservation projects in Europe to have a breeding pair of endangered red-necked ostriches.
This species of ostrich is extinct in the wild and there are very few of them left in the world – fewer than 40 males and 38 females exist in zoos worldwide. And on the very day that the staff at MiniHollywood managed to get their pair of red-necked ostriches to lay an egg, it was taken from under their noses by a thief who hopped over a double fence into the enclosure, grabbed the egg, stuffed it in a backpack and calmly walked out the front gate.
The director of the zoo insists that “the egg is still viable” to be hatched if only the thief would return it. For such an incredibly rare thing to go missing, you would think the thief knew exactly how valuable the item they were taking was (and exactly what they were risking by jumping into the home of a protective mother ostrich), but staff say they are not worried about who committed the crime, but just want the priceless egg back.
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That’s all we’ve got for this week. Thank you so much for reading to the end, and we’ll see you again next week.
Peace!
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