News

Fire crews get flames at Formentera house fire under control

Thursday, 25 August 2016 18:26

foc casa pagesa2 Formentera fire fighters have controlled a fire that broke out in a home in the es Pi des Català neighbourhood. The alert was first sounded by a neighbour at 12.30am, early in the morning on Thursday, August 25. Brigade chief Iván Marí pointed to the already advanced stage of the blaze when his men arrived on the scene as evidence that “the fire had probably been going for some time”. Though the crew was able to control the flames by 1.15am, the fire wasn't entirely extinguished until 3.40am.

Marí said the cause of the fire was not immediately clear, although he allowed for the possibility that the source was electric. He highlighted the fact the house's occupants —away from home at the time of the fire— escaped injury. The approximately 90-square-metre home was completely destroyed by the flames. The response crew was formed by three Formentera fire fighters, who had use of a firetruck, a pickup and a patrol car of Formentera local police.

Formentera rallies behind Italy after quake

Thursday, 25 August 2016 18:19

The Formentera Council is expressing its solidarity with the Italian nation on the heels of an earthquake that rocked the centre of the country yesterday, Wednesday August 24. The catastrophe has for now left a body count of more than 240, in addition to numerous missing and injured.

Tomorrow, Friday August 26 at 12 noon, a minute of silence will be observed out of respect for the lives claimed by the earthquake and for the victim's families. It will take place on the front steps of the Council (Casa Consistorial) in the Sant Francesc town square.

Council adds three big-name consultants to sports values roster

Friday, 19 August 2016 17:00

signatura esports 03 19 agost 2016 The Formentera Council's Office of Sport has signed three sponsorship deals with athletes Mateo Sanz, Ricard Marí and Óscar Santos. The three sportsmen, who will take on a consulting role in a Council programme to promote values in sport, agree to wear clothing emblazoned with Formentera graphics at their competitive meets. In turn, they will receive money from the Council to foster their continued participation in high-level competitions.

Windsurfer Mateo Sanz, who recently became the first Formentera local to compete in the Olympic games, will receive €10,000. Another €2,000 will go to Ricard Marí, a triathlete from the island who on October 8 will participate in the most long-standing and prestigious of the Ironman competitions, on Hawaii. This February local runner Óscar Santos snagged the bronze medal in Turkey's European junior cross-country racing championship. Santos will also receive sponsorship from the Council in the amount of €2,000.

As Jordi Vidal, CiF sports councillor, put it: “These athletes are living proof that if you work hard and stick with it you can make it all the way to the highest level competitions, even starting out from a little island like ours”. Local youth, mused Councillor Vidal, will no doubt be closely tracking the paths of the three sportsmen.

Fresh charges brought against itinerant vendors, street-side promoters

Monday, 22 August 2016 17:36

foto venda ambulant agost 2016 The Formentera Council president's office has reported on eight new charges, brought last weekend by the Formentera local police, of itinerant selling at island beaches. From Friday August 19 to Sunday August 21, agents of law and order issued three charges of illegally peddling jewellery and clothing as well as five charges for selling fruit and beverages. Officers confiscated 172 bracelets, 38 dresses, 174 refreshments and various pieces of fruit, sandwiches and salads. Charges were also brought in one alleged case of street-side promoting, also called “dynamic publicity”.

In recent months Formentera police have pursued 34 cases of itinerant vending and brought charges for eight counts of street-side promoting. The goal behind the current law enforcement push is to stem the instances of such crimes.

Formentera's adapted swim makes summer water leisure a reality for people with reduced mobility

Thursday, 18 August 2016 20:37

Servei de Salvament i Socorrisme, the lifeguard and rescue service under the president's office of the Formentera Island Council, has once again reported that it offers an adapted swim service for two groups —individuals with reduced mobility and the elderly— at es Arenals and es Pujols beaches. The two adapted beaches are equipped with retooled wooden boardwalks, a shaded rest area and a water-safe chair for adapted swimming.

Adapted swim sessions, noted Sergi Martí, head of the service, are led by two specially trained lifeguards. “For a more natural experience, family and friends can accompany the swimmer throughout,” he said.

The service is available from noon to 5.00pm seven days a week, only when the green flag flies (check sea conditions at www.platgesdebalears.com). The current flow of requests is between two and three per week. One recent user was Juan José Dueñas, who afterwards recounted, “it'd been two years since I'd been in the sea and thanks to this service I've been able to do it again.”

Socorrisme's coordinator, Martí, points to the service's target —“tourists and locals”— and says its aim is for “people with reduced mobility and seniors with impaired mobility to enjoy Formentera's waters, too”.