Trapped Boy
Rescuers have finished drilling a vertical tunnel running parallel to the borehole where the two-year-old boy fell into nine days ago, but now find that the diameter needs to be wider
Rescuers racing to find Julen Roselló have run into new technical difficulties.
When the tunnel is ready, members of a specialised Mining Rescue Brigade will be lowered in teams of two and manually dig a four-meter gallery to connect with the borehole,
Meanwhile
The Civil Guard has taken statements from the parents of the two-year-old as well as the owner of the land and the man who carried out the digging of the original borehole
the Andalusian regional High Court will be investigating the exact circumstances of the incident.
The borehole, which is around 110 meters deep and just 25 centimeters wide, did not have the proper permission, It was aimed at finding underground water. The local town hall also has no record of granting permission for the borehole.
Government Defeat
The government lost a vote in parliament yesterday to change regulations for housing rentals dealing the ruling Socialists a setback as they try to cobble together support to pass a national budget.
Podemos voted no, because it said the government decree didn’t do enough to limit the cost of rental properties, specifically by not empowering local governments to apply rent ceilings.
Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez heads a minority government and will need Podemos’s support, along with that of several smaller parties, to pass his budget.
If he fails Sanchez will be under pressure to call an early general election.
Spain has endured a major increase in the price of housing rentals recently.
Taxi Strike
Taxi drivers striking to demand tighter regulations for companies using ride-hailing apps blocked traffic for another day in Spain’s two major cities yesterday while threatening to take their protest to the French border.
Hundreds of drivers blocked roads in Madrid and Barcelona, with many wearing the yellow traffic safety vest that has become the symbol of protests in neighboring France.
Alberto Alvarez, spokesman for the Barcelona taxi driver association Elite Taxi said they were talking colleagues in France.
They complain that ride-hailing app drivers compete unfairly since they don’t have the same regulations and costs.