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GEORGE CLOONEY

George Clooney taken to hospital after scooter crash in Sardinia

Hollywood superstar George Clooney was treated in hospital on Tuesday for minor injuries after a scooter accident in Sardinia, Italian media reported.

Published: 10 July 2018 14:27 CEST
George Clooney taken to hospital after scooter crash in Sardinia
Actor George Clooney in Venice. Photo: Filippo Monteforte/AFP

The Ocean's Eleven actor hurt his leg when a Mercedes car allegedly turned without giving right of way and collided with his scooter, Italian press agency AGI said.

Clooney, 57, was reportedly thrown from his two-wheeler on to the windscreen of the vehicle in Costa Corallina on the island's northeast coast at around 8 am. The car driver called an ambulance which took Clooney to hospital, AGI added. 

His wife Amal, a human rights lawyer, rushed to Clooney's side in hospital, according to local newspaper La Nuova Sardegna, who reported he was later discharged and advised to follow a course of physiotherapy.

A CAT scan revealed no broken bones, just minor trauma to one knee, Italian news agency Ansa said.

READ ALSO: Sandal in the Mediterranean: Why you should visit Sardinia


Photo: Alex Macbeth

The north-east coast of Sardinia is popular with the rich and famous, although Clooney is on location on the island to film a new mini-series, Catch 22. 

Clooney is known to adore Italy and owns a number of properties in the country. He officially married Amal in Venice in September 2014, a few days after a lavish party in Lake Como.

AGI said part of the road was closed following the collision. Police told AFP they were unable to comment while operations related to the crash were still under way.

Clooney broke a rib in a motorcycle accident in New Jersey in 2008, while his then-girlfriend Sarah Larson suffered a broken foot. 

READ ALSO: George Clooney: the treasure of Laglio


Photo: Pierre Teyssot/AFP
 

CRIME

Theft of sand from Sardinia’s beaches on the rise again – despite fines of up to €3,000

With the return of mass tourism this summer came a new increase in the theft of sand, pebbles and shells from Sardinia’s protected beaches, environmental campaigners say.

Published: 19 August 2021 13:06 CEST
Theft of sand from Sardinia’s beaches on the rise again - despite fines of up to €3,000
A beach in Sardinia's Porto San Paolo. Photo: Daniel Slim/AFP

A campaign group called ‘Sardegna rubata e depredata’ (Sardinia robbed and plundered) estimated that at least six tonnes of sand had been taken from the island’s beaches this year alone, mostly by foreign visitors.

In 2017, it became illegal to remove sand, shells and pebbles from Sardinia’s beaches as they were classed as protected resources. People breaking these rules face fines of between €500 and €3,000 – and anyone caught attempting to take larger quantities risks a prison term.

But it seems that many visitors haven’t got the message, as sand theft – and the number of fines being issued to those caught stealing – has risen again this summer with the return of international tourists.

READ ALSO: What is Italy doing to protect its coastline?

In July alone, customs officers at Sardinia’s Alghero airport seized 1.4 kilograms of sand from the island’s beaches during systematic bag searches, the Ansa news agency reported on Tuesday.

Items found in the possession of departing passengers at the airport last month reportedly included numerous plastic bottles filled with sand, 743 sea pebbles, 43 shells and a rock weighing 1.2 kg. 

All passengers caught with the illegal souvenirs were fined, police said.

Campaigners said most culprits are foreign tourists who usually “don’t really have a motive”. 

“Perhaps to arouse the envy of friends and relatives, or to recreate the feeling of the holiday in their living rooms, or even to decorate a home aquarium,” the group wrote on its Facebook page.

“Some do it probably because there is such a sense of discomfort in having to leave the island. They try in a desperate way to take it with them, in their hands, instead of keeping the memories in the heart,” the group said.

In rarer cases, the motive for the theft appears to be profit – with reports in Italian media that bags of precious pink sand from Sardinia’s protected beaches are being sold online to “collectors”.

A couple of French tourists last year were caught trying to board a ferry with 40kg of sand in 14 large plastic bottles in the boot of their car.

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