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Scary incident as Spanish speedboat comes right into our shore
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Beach users at Eastern Beach were outraged on Sunday when a small speed boat with four Spanish youth on board arrived from the other side of the airport runway (Spanish side) and came up to 15 metres away from shore. Witnesses say the Spanish occupants on the boat then started hurling a tirade of insults at bathers.
The beach was packed on Sunday, the weather was particularly hot and the water according to bathers was also warm. There were hundreds of people in the sea particularly children, but this according to witnesses did not stop the occupants of the boat getting ever closer to bathers.
An eye-witness said: ‘It happened right in front of me, they approached (spanish boat) the shore and people started shouting at them, the spanish youths responded by insulting back and turning, getting nearer, they were at the sandbank, by then loads of kids around the area, don’t know how someone hasn’t been killed!'
The eastern beach lifeguards gave chase in their inflatable, the Spanish boat then started to make dangerous manoeuvres turning sharply near children and other bathers, this was done several times with total disregard for all the people inside the water, said a bather.
Witnesses said that the RGP arrived late, after the Spanish speedboat had left. An eye-witness said that the late arrival of the RGP was perhaps due to their having sent a 'slow boat', that is, their large, much more slower type of launch, which may not be suitable for summer patrols of beaches, particularly when high speed jet-skis and fast engine vessels are everywhere to be seen.
In fact it was the heroic efforts of the life guards that got all the praises from the public for chasing the Spanish boat away.
Again Gibraltar has been thrust into another incident, this time a dangerous incursion into our waters, with the real threat of serious injury or worse to residents of the Rock going about their business peacefully on what should have been a fun-filled Sunday.
Numerous people are now very concerned about their safety on the beaches, this incident was a fragrant abuse of Gibraltar laws.
Panorama over the last few weeks has also drawn attention to the apparent lack of visible police patrols, although if the RGP are attempting to enforce the laws on board slow launches which have limited manoeuvrability then they may always arrive when the show is over!
The public, as was heard on Sunday, now demand a response particularly from the Government and the Convent, as there have been too many incidents recently where the government have remained silent.
Questioned by Panorama, the police said: A small boat entered demarcated waters at Eastern Beach at around 18.00 on Sunday. When they saw the police coming - who were at Catalan Bay - they sped off.
16-08-11
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