Police and firefighters save 90-year-old man from falling down 30-metre drop in Guadalhorce valley town
A relative of the elderly gentleman bravely held onto him until the emergency rescue crews arrived at the scene
An accident when a 90-year-old man stumbled while taking in the landscape on the path up to Jabalcuza, in Alhaurín de la Torre in Malaga province's Guadalhorce valley, almost ended in tragedy last week. The incident, reported by the town hall this week, happened on the afternoon of Wednesday 10 September, when the elderly man, who was in the Povea well area, ended up on a very unstable slope, just a few centimetres from a drop of about 30 metres. His position was very precarious, as he would have ended up at the bottom of the cliff had it not been for a relative, who managed to hold on to him, while at the same time alerting the emergency services.
Local Police officers were despatched to the scene and managed to hold the injured man, improvising a makeshift harness while they requested the urgent intervention of the fire brigade. The ground was not firm, so any wrong move would have been fatal.
On arrival, personnel from Malaga's CPB provincial fire brigade deployed rescue and safety equipment. As an anchoring point, they used the wheels of the police vehicle, which ensured the stability of the rescue system.
Eventually, the rescued elderly gentleman was attended to by the medical services, although he only showed signs of scratches and scrapes, with no apparent fractures. The councillor for public safety, Francisco José Sánchez, praised this “very important” coordinated effort by the Local Police force, fire brigade and the direct collaboration of the family member who was accompanying him, which proved “decisive” for the success of a “complex” emergency operation.
Meanwhile, the last full council session unanimously approved the awarding of the police merit medal with a purple badge to four officers for 20 years of service. In addition, with the agreement of all groups, an individual public commendation was also granted to three officers and an inspector for an intervention that led to the arrest of a person suspected of the burglary of a home.
