Silent heroes arrive today

The first wave of the one thousand plus victims of the German floods will arrive in Majorca today at the start of their free holidays. The first group of 300 people includes primarily the “silent heroes” who worked round the clock for days on end to help the victism of the floods which caused millions of euros worth of damage to parts of Germany when many are worried about their jobs, never mind a summer break in the sun. The “silent heroes,” which include members of the general public, police and fire fighters will spend the weekend in Majorca as guests of Iberostar Hotels & Resorts, Thomas Cook and Lufthansa. This first group will arrive on three special Lufthansa flights today, the second group will land in Palma on October 4 and the final group on October 11. The three participating companies launched a campaign “a thousand thanks to a thousand saviours” in order to find the one thousand “silent heroes” of the floods. The German public and humanitarian organisations such as the Red Cross, were asked to help nominate their “silent heroes” for the long weekend in Majorca in recognition of their hard work during the floods. Tomorrow, Saturday, the groups will be taken to the beach before being treated to a typical “Balearic night” with dinner and entertainment at the participating Iberostar hotels. A good night's rest, and then they will all fly home on Sunday. On their arrival at Palma airport today, the 300 “silent heroes” will be given a heroes' welcome by the organisers of the programme. Initially the Balearic Ministry for Tourism's idea was to invite one thousand children and their families, but such was the positive response to the idea from the Balearic and German tourist industries that the whole of Germany became involved in nominating their hero for a well earned free trip to Majorca. The folloiwng two groups will spend the best part of a week in Majorca.