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A LARGE-SCALE Rescue Operation ended in tragedy in Malaga Province last week. A 47-year old blind hiker found dead at bottom of a ravine.
He fell 60 meters from the Puente de los Alemanes, which crosses the Guadairo River over the Las Buitreras gorge.
He and his friends were hiking on a popular hiking trail near Gaucin, which is well-worn by locals as well as expats.
Emergency services report that they received an alert at 12.10pm on 17th January, stating that a hiking group had gone missing.
The victim was accompanied at the time and, according to the Guardia Civil, ‘his companions were unable to grab him.’
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Serrania de Ronda was the scene of an incident., A mountain range with an interesting landscape.
Mountain rescue and intervention teams were immediately called in to assist with the rescue operation. A helicopter from a military station in Granada was sent to assist with the search.
Rescuers discovered the man’s body ‘several metres downstream due to the strong current’, the Guardia Civil said.
Rescue efforts were initially hampered due to the difficult conditions in the river. This was characterized by the power of the current at a specific section of the ravine.
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His body was taken to the Institute of Legal Medicine to be autopsied to determine the cause of his death.
The incident comes after Francisco Javier Sánchez, a 66-year-old blind man, asked the Ayuntamiento de Malaga to make the region safer for blind people.
He asked for audible traffic signs and raised pavements so that he could walk more safely on the street.
Sanchez requested this in 2023. But nothing has happened. His daughter took to social media in order to spread awareness of her father’s plight.
She said that “Many people are aware that living in a world not designed for them is difficult.”
The Guardia Civil says they don’t know what caused the man to fall.
The incident and Sanchez’s remarks have raised concern about the safety and accessibility of Malaga and its surroundings for blind people.
The Olive Press is a great source for Malaga News.
