Trapped
Rescuers yesterday were trying to find a two-year-old boy who fell down a well more than 100m deep and just 25cm wide.
The search began on Sunday afternoon and continued overnight night near Totalán, a village in hills north-east of Málaga.
They don’t know if the boy is still alive. A camera lowered into the well found his bag of sweets and a plastic cup 78m down, Spanish media report.
Fire fighters and police inserted tubing to shore up the hole, dug to get water.
They are still trying to work out how best to get the two-year-old, named by media only as Yulen, out.
Nobody can squeeze down the narrow shaft, so the plan is to drill a parallel tunnel, but rescuers must avoid knocking the borehole’s sides.
The boy’s father rang police at 14:00 local time on Sunday to tell them Yulen had fallen into the well.
Guardia Civil police joined dozens of firefighters with specialist equipment
Migration
Spanish authorities pulled 493 migrants from eight rickety boats in the Mediterranean yesterday but blocked a humanitarian rescue ship from leaving Barcelona, saying it violated maritime regulations on previous trips.
An order from Spanish authorities to the aid group Proactiva Open Arms said their boat had violated maritime regulations “to leave those rescued at sea at the nearest port.”
This happened on the boat’s most recent mission in December, when some 300 migrants saved near Libya were taken to Spain.
The aid group has appealed the decision, arguing that the ship only came to Spain after both Malta and Italy had turned it away.
Proactiva Open Arms says the ship has rescued 5,619 people in the Mediterranean Sea since July 2017.
Cockfighting
Police say they have arrested 182 people alleged to have taken part in a cockfight.
The arrests took place on Saturday in the Murcia region when police raided the clandestine event that organizers called a national championship.
Those arrested were charged with animal cruelty, police said yesterday.
The police raid confiscated 300,000 euros in cash involved in illegal bets.
Police say the fight involved breeders of roosters from across Spain.
Brit Arrested
A Wanted British expat has been arrested in Marbella for raking in more than £1 million a year through drug trafficking.
The 44-year-old man from Liverpool – whose identity has not yet been revealed – was arrested under a European Arrest Warrant in San Pedro de Alcantara on Thursday.
Officers identified the wanted man as he was leaving a gym close to his Spanish home.
On approaching him, the man grabbed a metal bench and threw it at an officer’s head before running away.
Officers managed to catch and arrest him a few metres down the road.
Police revealed that he fled the UK while on bail. He was expected to serve a maximum sentence of 19 years.
A court date is expected to be set in the coming weeks.