AND HERE IS THE NEWS…
….a quick glance at the latest local news with Caroline Manson
Missing 9 year old boy found after 6 hour search
On Thursday 4th January, 9 year old Léon was enjoying a family hike around Pic Néolous and the Col de L’Ouillat in the Albères. Suddenly, a thick fog covered the area and his grandfather lost sight of him. A search team was quickly mobilised, consisting of 6 mountain rescuers, a dog and handler, four gendarmes and four firefighters. Two hours later, fifteen specialised firefighters and two drones with thermal cameras were called in as night began to fall. After a worrying 6 hour search, the boy was found by a restaurant owner on the Spanish side. The boy was said to be thirsty and hungry but had shown great courage by hiking 8 kilometres through the forest, constantly blowing a whistle that he had in his backpack.
Macabre discoveries near Perpignan-Cerbere train track
On Friday morning the lifeless, mutilated body of an 18 year old man was found near the railway line on the outskirts of Cerbère. Close to him was a seriously injured young woman, who was rescued and urgently transported by helicopter to Perpignan Hospital. Reports say that her hand had been torn off. For the moment, police are issuing no further information and a judicial investigation has been opened, but the preferred hypothesis is of a collision between a train and two pedestrians as a freight train driver had reported the presence of two people circulating near the tunnel that connects Port-Bou to Cerbère earlier that morning.
Fish saved from dry river
A rescue operation took place to remove hundreds of kilos of fish from the River Agly. Because of the drought situation, the river is at a very low level and the quantity of water is not sufficient for the quantity of fish. The recent rescue operation took place near the Jacquet de Rivesaltes suspension bridge and involved teams of fishermen wading into ‘puddles’ (all that is left of the river in certain areas) armed with landing nets to retrieve the fish. After being fished the fish are deposited into tanks and cleaned with clear water as their gills can be cloyed with mud. They are then released into the reservoir in Caramany where there is still sufficient water to accommodate them. Last year nearly three tons of fish were saved.
New speed limit on RN116
The main road between Perpignan and the ski slopes is one of the busiest in the region, taken by nearly 16,000 vehicles every day. It has been the scene of many accidents, and for this reason the Préfecture has issued an order reducing the maximum authorised speed be reduced to 70km/h in several sections, most notably between Bouleternère and Prades. Two other areas are also concerned – the Vinça crossings and the Rodès crossing – and plans to install roundabouts are already being considered. The new 70km/h signs will be installed during the coming weeks.
Secours Populaire warehouse burgled
The Illiberal Centre de Secours Populaire in Elne is a distribution centre for food and general supplies for people in need. Sadly, just after Christmas, volunteers discovered that the fencing had been forced and burglars had stolen essential supplies of tuna, pasta and milk destined to be made up into food parcels. Luckily the toys that had been stored there had already been distributed but volunteers are extremely disappointed and angry. They also added that people in need could still register with them and they would be continuing their fortnightly distribution of food packages, despite this loss.
Winter has arrived
Last week’s unseasonably high temperatures have now been replaced by ‘normal’ winter temperatures. A very strong and icy Tramontane wind over the weekend has reduced temperatures to around 2 or 3 degrees below January averages and over the next few days daytime temperatures are not expected to rise above 6 degrees – with overnight frosts. On a positive note, all the ski-slopes are now open!
And finally…
The January sales start on Wednesday January 10th. It is worth noting that ‘sales’ are very much governed by laws in France and can only be held during certain periods – unlike Allied Carpets in the UK who seemed to advertise a year round sale. The January sales in the region end on February 6th, so if you weren’t given an air-fryer for Christmas, now is the time.
