An 80-year-old man died this afternoon after being knocked down by a hit and run driver in Puerto de la Cruz. Emergency services were called to the accident at the promenade around 5.30pm and found the poor man with serious head injuries. Despite their efforts at saving his life, sadly they could do nothing to help him and he was pronounced dead at the scene. The driver was subsequently detained, and found to have been over the limit.

Update 25 September: The La Gomera Cabildo has said the fire, which started on 4 August, was at last brought under control at 10pm last night. It was declared stabilized on 24 August, and since then firefighting work has continued to boundary it and dampen down. The decision to declare it under control was made after 48 hours had elapsed without smoke in the permiter zones, and when all the lines of firefighting could be considered “cold”. The President of the Cabildo, Casimiro Curbelo, expressed his satisfaction at being able to announce the news, but stressed that the island hoped for rain which would help finally to extinguish the fire. Almost 3,000 hectares have been affected on the island, some 8% of its entire surface, of which 720 were in the Garajonay national park itself: the final damage there is to 18% of the forest.   ... Read more...