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MALLORCA

Two Americans die scaling sea cliffs in Spain

Two American men have plunged to their deaths while scaling sea cliffs on Spain's holiday island of Mallorca, police said on Wednesday.

Two Americans die scaling sea cliffs in Spain
Two men die scaling sea cliffs in Mallorca. Photo: cocoparisienne / Pixabay

The bodies of the pair – aged 25 and 35 – were found on Monday floating in the water near the Cueva de es Cossi in the east of the Mediterranean island, a spokeswoman for the Guardia Civil police said.

They had been practising deep-water soloing, a form of rock climbing without ropes that relies solely on the presence of water at the base of a climb to protect against injury from falls.

“It appears that there was a rockslide and they fell,” the spokeswoman said.

Emergency services rushed to the scene after being alerted by swimmers in the area who spotted the badly bruised bodies of the two men floating in the water, she added.

Spain’s maritime rescue service recovered their remains, which were taken to the nearby port of Portocolom.

The area has long been popular for deep water soloing, also known as psicobloc.

While the sport is usually practised on sea cliffs at high tide, it can also be done on climbs above reservoirs and rivers.

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MALLORCA

Lufthansa fires up ‘jumbo jet’ for surge in German tourists bound for Mallorca

German airline Lufthansa said Friday it was taking "extraordinary measures" to meet surging bookings for the Spanish holiday island of Mallorca, deploying a jumbo jet to ferry passengers from Frankfurt.

Lufthansa fires up 'jumbo jet' for surge in German tourists bound for Mallorca
Tourists enjoy the first days of summer on the island of Mallorca. Photo: picture alliance/dpa/AP | Francisco Ubilla

The group said it had seen a jump in reservations from German sunseekers in recent weeks, as concerns about the pandemic ease thanks to falling infection numbers and vaccination progress across Europe.

To meet demand, Lufthansa said it would swap the 215-seat Airbus A321 that usually plies the Frankfurt-Mallorca route for its Boeing 747-8 “jumbo jet”.The 747, also known as the “Queen of the Skies”, can carry 364 people and is the largest plane in Lufthansa’s fleet.

The super-large planes normally fly transatlantic routes but have been
mostly grounded since the pandemic upended air travel.

READ ALSO: ‘I really needed a break’: Pandemic-weary Germans find freedom on Mallorca

“Lufthansa is taking extraordinary measures in order to respond to a significant increase in booking demand for flights to Palma de Mallorca,” the airline said in a statement.

The jumbo jet will be used for four weekends over July and August, it added, Europe’s key summer travel season.

Mallorca is one of the most popular tourist destinations for Germans and is sometimes affectionately referred to as Germany’s “17th state”.

Before the pandemic, around five million German tourists visited the island
each year.

READ ALSO: ‘Germans are coming back’: Spaniards sceptical over return of tourists

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