Finestrat
December 19, 2016
Dear Sir/Madam,
It was with great regret that we had to witness the tragic drowning of the gentleman swept away in the recent flood in La Cala de Finestrat. Our thoughts and deepest sympathy go out to his family at this time.
What was a horrific thing to witness was made even more terrible by the fact that this poor gentleman could have been saved by a simple installation of a railing to either side of the small one that currently exists above the outlet pipes of the storm drain pipes that feed onto the beach.
There were two policemen on the promenade at the time of this incident who had not seen this poor man as he was washed over the edge of the promenade.
As we all screamed out to them from our balconies and they noticed him, he had already been washed half way down the beach, although they tried to save him and indeed were risking their own lives, being waist deep in an angry sea. It was already too late.
During these last few days of slightly smaller floods it became apparent that a railing placed and spaced correctly would have caught the gentleman before he was washed down the beach, enabling the policemen to pull him to safety and get him life-saving help.
We are here for the winter and knew previous loss of life had occurred due to the flood racing down the old river bed where the market used to stand. However, until the major problem there has been resolved, a thousand pounds spent wisely erecting a barrier in the area mentioned could well prevent further loss of life.
Chris Cracknell
