The mayor of Torrevieja, José Manuel Dolón, together with the councillor for beaches, Javier Manzanares, were in La Mata on Friday morning where they attended the closure of a section of the beach due to the presence of the Portuguese man o’ war.
The red flag that prohibits bathing for a stretch of about two kilometres was raised along with a second flag indicating the presence of jellyfish, and posters explaining the dangers associated with this floating terror.
The measure does not affect the beach at La Mata Centro although yellow flags were raised at all remaining beaches in the municipality as a precaution.
The mayor said that the decision had been taken for reasons of “safety and prevention” and has asked residents to observe “prudence” and to “respect the signs” so as to avoid bites from this species and its long, venomous tentacles
Manzares explained that on Thursday afternoon six of the jellyfish had been seen in the immediate area following which the Civil Guard and Local Police, with the support of Civil Protection, monitored the beaches prior to taking the decision to close the beach.
“A further 10 jellyfish were found on the sand and another six in the water, so the most appropriate measure was the closure of the beach”, said the councillor.
He added that Civil Protection will continue to monitor the situation throughout the weekend in case it became necessary to upgrade the flags from yellow to red flag on any other beaches
