The village of El Trapiche in the Axarquia was swamped last night when the main pipe supplying water to nearby municipalities burst on Viñuela Reservoir.

The gush of water left Calle Poeta García Valverde under a metre and a half of water, affecting over 60 dwellings. It also caused the A-7205 road to be closed.

The incident occurred around 22.15h when water began flooding into the village, provoking a small exodus of residents from their homes along 400 metres of the said street.

The fire service, the Protección Civil, the Policía Local and the Policía Nacional were soon at the scene to control the crisis. Fire personnel had to rescue a 90-year-old woman from her home where she was trapped owing to mobility problems. She was taken to the Hospital de la Axarquía.

The Chairman for the Mancomunidad Oriental and publicly owned water board, (Axaragua), Gregorio Campos, stated that they are evaluating the damage caused and were working to prevent water cuts in the 14 municipalities that take their mains water from the said reservoir.

Work continued all through the night to repair the damage outlet pipe, whilst the fire service set about draining the flood water from the streets and homes. During their work to help people who required rescuing, the fire service used one of their dinghies

(News: El Trapiche, Axarquia, Malaga, Andalucia)