Alex Trelinski
THREE people were rescued by the Guardia Civil after a mini-hurricane on Sunday caught beach-goers by surprise on Granada’s Costa Tropical.
A Maritime Rescue vessel helped paddle surfers and kayakers who had got into difficulty.
A motorboat also helped two people in a craft which suffered navigational problems.
The sharp turn in the weather hit beaches at Motril, Salobreña and Torrenueva at around 7.45pm
Umbrellas, inflatables and other beach gear was blown away as authorities cleared the area and told people to stay indoors.
Calls to the emergency 112 number started arriving about the strong winds with reports of falling branches and beach gear been whipped into the air.
Such a weather phenomenon happens when a wind current falling towards the ground passes through a layer of warm, dry air.
The State Meteorological Agency(Aemet) said bathers were caught unaware with temperatures suddenly spiking to 40.1C and strong gusts of wind of up to 86.8 kms/hour.
The sensation was that of a blow torch or as if an oven had dumped its heat all at once.
Some witnesses described it as ‘skin-burning’ air with long-time Costa Tropical residents saying they had never ever experienced anything like what happened on Sunday.
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