Local school kids and tourists trapped in fire

Around 100 tourists and a group of 15 pupils from a Marratxi international school were trapped by the fire at La Trapa which started at mid-day on Friday and was not brought under control until yesterday. The blaze, fanned by the wind, destroyed a significant area of La Trapa and yesterday forestry experts were at the scene trying to assess the full extent of the damage. All of the children trapped by the fire were evacuated safely by the Andratx Local Police using a fleet of four wheel drive vehicles. Insular Council firemen, the Local Police, Guardia Civil, Red Cross and the forestry department battled the blaze and fighting the flames was complicated by dense smoke. Yesterday forestry experts and small units of fire fighters returned to the scene to ensure that the fire was out and that the forecasted strong winds did not breath new life in to the fire. Police are talking to a local farmer who on Friday was burning scrub on his land in order to establish what caused the fire. Apparently, the “controlled” fire started by the farmer, suddenly started to spread, frightening the farmer who fled the scene of the blaze. This year the Balearics has seen a sharp drop in the number of forest fires, mainly because of tighter controls.