Bathers in El Mojón were alarmed on Sunday morning when the sea water in which they were relaxing began to bubble as if it were a huge ‘jacuzzi’.
At first, there was a certain amount of alarm among the holidaymakers, who were concerned by the constant irruption of jets of gas, which arose in the form of bubbles between the rocks, close to the coast and the sand at the edge of the beach.
Some bathers claimed to be able to small noxious gases, claiming that it could be a health risk, although this later turned out to be completely false.
Officers from the town hall were quickly on hand although they were able to offer little reassurance. When questioned by a swimmer they avoided offering explanations about the mystery.
However the puzzle was solved in the middle of the morning, when staff from the Mancomunidad de Canales del Taibilla, the desalination plant in San Pedro del Pinatar, clarified that the bubble jets were the result of a process involving the drainage of pipes from the plant, which needs to be undertaken at least twice a year.
They confirmed that the seawater collection systems of were being cleaned. During the operation, the exit of these gases at several points along the coast becomes a source of bubbles, like a ‘jacuzzi’.
They stressed that it is clean air and totally harmless to health, although they did admit that the cleaning should not have been done in the middle of the summer campaign and without having previously warned the bathers of what was going to happen .
