Motorists caught in sweltering heat on a Swiss motorway after a Spanish melon lorry lost its load were tucked into free watery melons to help them cool down.

The accident happened when the lorry lost its load of sweet melons on the busy A3 near Basle in Switzerland, closing the road for two hours while firemen cleared away the watery fruits. And police turned a blind eye as motorists caught in the sweltering heat in a three mile tail back streamed out of their cars to help themselves from the honey melons lying by the road.

One motorist said: “The police weren´t giving them away but they weren´t stopping anyone from tucking in either. It certainly sweetened the waiting time a bit.”

via Croatian Times Online News.

On This Day 3rd July 1970 Holiday jet goes missing over Barcelona, The Dan-Air Comet jet left Manchester Airport at 1700 BST (1600 GMT) to make the short flight to Barcelona with passengers on a Clarkson tour and seven crew

On This Day 3rd July 1970 Holiday jet goes missing over Barcelona

A charter flight from Manchester has gone missing with 105 holiday-makers and seven crew on board.

The Dan-Air Comet jet left Manchester Airport at 1700 BST (1600 GMT) to make the short flight to Barcelona with passengers on a Clarkson tour and seven crew.

Most of the people on board are from the Greater Manchester area.

Air-traffic controllers at Prat de Llobregt airport were last in contact with the plane at 1900 BST (1800 GMT).

It was due to land at that time but was 12 miles north-west of Barcelona flying 6,000 ft over Sabadell.

via On This Day 3rd July 1970 Holiday jet goes missing over Barcelona.

A British man and his adult son died Saturday when their small plane crashed during a practice flight just hours ahead of an air race on Spain´s Menorca island, organisers said.

The two men were the only passengers of the plane, one of about 20 taking part in Air Race Menorca 2010, a spokesman for the Royal Mahon Flying Club which organised the event said.

The aircraft crashed and burst into flames about 100 metres (yards) from the end of the runway of the club´s aerodrome shortly after taking off to join other planes that were to form an octagonal pattern in the sky.

The air race was called off following the accident.

The unidentified victims of the accident have lived on the Mediterranean island for years, according to Spanish media reports.

via AFP: British father, son die in small plane accident in Spain.

The dead navy members are: Luis Fernando Torija, Francisco Forne, Manuel Dormido y Eusebio Villatoro. Their helicopter is reported to have been in “perfect condition”, but came down as they were returning from a logistical trip to the Dominican Republic.

Chacon presided over the acts to honour the fallen. Before more than 200 Spanish soldiers, the defense minister called the four men “heroes”.

Haitian Prime Minister Jean Max Bellerrive said that the deaths of the four soldiers in the helicopter accident made Sunday into “a day of mourning for the world”.

“We feel very deeply what happened the day before yesterday. It was an event that the entire Haitian people felt a great deal because these soldiers came here to help in a very difficult situation,” Bellerive said.

via The remains of dead soldiers in Haiti arrive to Spain  | Momento 24.

A Spanish military helicopter has crashed in rugged terrain in Haiti, the United Nations (UN) has said.
The four people on board when the crash happened at 1030 local time ((1630 CEST) 1530 BST) on Friday have not been found.

The crew of a helicopter sent to the area “saw the impact site” but could not locate those on board due to the “enormous damage,” a UN spokesman said.

The crash site is in rough terrain 50km (30 miles) southeast of the Haitian capital, Port-au-Prince.

The Spanish embassy would not confirm the fate of the crew of the crashed helicopter.

Spain has about 450 soldiers in Haiti helping with aid and reconstruction after the devastating earthquake on 12 January, that the Haitian government says killed about 230,000 people.

Within minutes emergency workers were on the scene, at km 93.4 of the N332.  However, all they could do was certify the deaths of the victims.

The Firemen from Elche literally had to down tools as they were extinguishing a fire at a home in Santa Pola.  Fortunately it was almost out when they got the call to rush to the scene of the accident.  They then had to proceed to cut away the wreckage so the bodies could be removed fro the car.

The crash caused a multiple collision involving three other vehicles, which had been travelling behind the car. One of the drivers suffered serious injuries and had to be rushed to hospital. The road was subsequently closed for two hours and the traffic directed along alternative routes.

The police are now investigating the cause of the accident.  The most probable hypothesis is that one of the vehicles invaded the lane of the traffic travelling in the opposite direction.

via HEAD ON COLLISION CAUSES TWO DEATHS | Costa Blanca | Leader Newspaper – News, Sport, Advertising, Property, Classifieds – Costa Blanca, Costa del Sol, Costa Calida, Costa de Almeria, Spain.

Flares were spotted from the area the copter is thought to have gone done after radio and radar control was lost.

Four people where travelling in the ‘Helimer’ helicopter, and El Mundo reports one of whom was rescued in a serious condition.

They had gone to carry out some flight manoeuvres with the ship ‘Nóvola’.

The cause of the accident is unknown and a search continues in the area.

The court says the officer´s behavior was “utterly incompatible” with his responsibility as a public servant to protect people and their property.

The Civil Guard officer acknowledged using the credit card 69 times after taking it from a man who died in a road accident in the northwest Galicia region in 2002. He spent euro1,323 ($1,900) but returned the money after getting caught.

The officer was identified only by his initials in a verdict released Wednesday.

He served a year-and-a-half in prison, and was later expelled from the Civil Guard.

via Spain – Policeman Who Stole Credit Car Loses Appeal – NYTimes.com.

He has neither “been removed from or has been reprimanded,” following the incident, according to Guardia Civil sources.

The Guardia Civil has opened an internal investigation to clarify the incident and “determine the responsibility of the agent”, which belongs to the Unidad Central Operativa (Central Operations Unit) or UCO and is dedicated to combating terrorism.

The incident occurred at around 17:40, for reasons still unknown, in the N-332, near the La Marina shopping centre, between the municipalities of Finestrat and Benidorm. As a result, the men suffered various injuries.

A unit from the Emergency Medical Service (SAMU) and another of Basic Life Support attended the scene, and transported the two men to the hospital of La Marina Baixa.