There was a major rockfall and landslide in the cliff of Teguergenche mountain towering over the harbour of Vueltas. The incident happened this afternoon and the unsurfaced access road to both the Argaga ravine (where the 'Fruit Garden' is located) and the resort of 'Finca Argayall' has been blocked by countless tons of debris. Some camper vans parked there narrowly escaped destruction. Three rescue helicopters were searching for signs of anyone trapped, but up to now there are no reports of any casualties. The video shows a huge plume of dust and even waves caused by the massive amount of rocks falling into Valle Gran Rey's harbour of Vueltas. A couple of diggers are on stand-by near the scene and the tough work of reopening the access road will begin as soon as it is deemed safe to do so. (Above video source: Esteban Perez)
UPDATE:
The Canarian government has activated the ''territorial emergency plan'' and additional teams from civil defence, Red Cross, police, etc., as well as search dogs have been sent to La Gomera from Tenerife and Gran Canaria.
The harbour beach in Vueltas has been closed.
Update Sunday night:
There seem to be no casualties after extensive searches by rescue teams with sniffer dogs did not find any traces. Thankfully there are no reports of missing persons, and the search teams have returned home. Specialist engineers have arrived in Valle Gran Rey who will assess the stability of the cliff and the debris before any work to clear debris can begin. In the meantime the area will be serviced by boat. The beach in Vueltas will remain closed temporarily.
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The administration of Vallehermoso, under whose jurisdiction the affected area falls, has announced that the access road to Argaga and Finca Argayall is to remain closed permanently and will now be given up as it has become too unstable and dangerous. This decision was taken in agreement with all the other relevant authorities. Geologists from INVOLCAN have spotted more cracks and splits in the face of the cliff that will probably lead to further rock material breaking off. In fact, locals are well aware of these cracks and the erosion of this mountain has been ongoing for millenia. The whole of La Gomera presents an erosion landscape.
There is now a proposal to rapidly build a small pier to service the area and this project has the support of La Gomera's government.
More information about the track to Argaga, with frightening stories of near misses and fatal rock falls can be found here... Read more...
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| View of the fallen material from one of the helicopters. Note the new coastline and the camper vans on right. |
6 comments :
It always scares the hell out of me walking to the yoga there. Wow, so much worse than I ever imagined it would be.
How will the walkers through Argaga get passed the rockfall? A ferry link isn't realistic. Guess a footpath will be made over the rockfall. One long term solution could be a reinforced tunnel similar to others in La Gomera.
Simple answer: Walkers should not attempt this route. The unsurfaced road has been closed and fenced off permanently. The hiking route through Argaga ravine has also been closed and has long been taken out of the hiking route network as it had become too dangerous. Both routes will not be reopened.
The residents of Argaga and Finca Argayall are almost self-sufficient and are now being serviced by boat.
What will become of the tropical fruitgarden now I wonder ?
Good question. As I wrote the plan is to provide access to the area by boat. However this is difficult at the moment as there is no pier in Argaga and it is hoped that the authorities will build one ASAP. The bureaucratic obstacles are manifold, though. The affected businesses, like the fruit garden and Finca Argayall, together with the residents in Argaga are organising themselves and some limited access by boat is available. If you want to go there inquire in Vueltas harbour. The road and the path down through the ravine will not be reopened.
The path past the tropical fruit garden always seemed like paradise to me. I have such happy memories of sitting there on a rock with my late husband and watching beautiful butterflies and the amazing rocks and plants. It remains in my dreams and my photos and I am sad that I shall not go there again.
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