Will there be a before and after in Puerto Naos after the tragic death, last weekend, of a 5-year-old child? The president of the Port Authority of Las Palmas, Javier Sánchez, asked himself this question on Radio Lanzarote and he himself was in charge of answering it. He has confirmed that measures will be taken to limit vehicle access to the area: "There has been an absolutely unfortunate and regrettable event. Is it going to be the trigger for measures to be taken? Yes, obviously yes. Because this is something that should not have happened, but also cannot happen again."
After the accident, the Port Authority has initiated two investigations with the aim of clarifying why the lights were off on Friday night in Puerto Naos and to determine the reasons why, until now, access of vehicles to this area of the capital has not been regulated. And it is that some of the hypotheses arising from the event point to darkness as one of the possible causes of the vehicle falling into the sea. "First of all, we want to know why the lights were off that day. We are not the owners of the tower, but we are users of it. Even so, we have opened the investigation into why the lights were off. This is an anomaly about which, until we have the specific data, we cannot say anything," explained Sánchez, pointing to Unelco as the supplier of this installation. However, the electricity company maintains that there was no supply problem in the area that night and that if there was a lack of lighting, they were not responsible.
In any case, the one related to lighting is not the only line of investigation opened by the Port Authority. Its president, Javier Sánchez, also wants to determine why access to cars is allowed in that area: "Puerto Naos has been open for forty or fifty years, or more. It is surprising that no measures have been taken previously regarding vehicle traffic. Lanzarote, like all ports, has security zones, but there are other areas where it is much more integrated into the city and almost becomes another urban road. The levels of security and protection are what they are in some areas, but in other places a vehicle can fall, as has happened. We are seeing what the reason was why specific measures were not taken, in addition to having the port illuminated, as is logical." Thus, he assured that measures are planned so that cars cannot access the dock. "It will be with the placement of bollards, probably, but I do not rule out other types of measures such as sound bands so that cars reduce speed," he said in his speech on the program La Destiladera.
Coordination
The death of the 5-year-old child has also opened the debate on the role played by the security forces in the surveillance of the area, which is the responsibility of the Port Authority. In this regard, Javier Sánchez has announced that they will "intensify coordination with the Local Police. In all ports there are agreements with the city councils because we have a port police force but it is normally dedicated to monitoring the area where the dock has more activity and Puerto Naos has very little activity. Its complement is provided by the Local Police."
The top person in charge of the Port Authority of Las Palmas assures that it is necessary to try to reconcile security in the area with the use that the residents of Arrecife give to it. Thus, he affirms that they will try to prevent Puerto Naos from being transformed into a race track or a space for the practice of binge drinking, as has been seen in recent times: "We have no interest in that becoming what, according to the complaints we are receiving, they tell us they have become."
Javier Sánchez also did not rule out the possibility of incorporating security personnel to facilitate the work of the emergency services, within reason. Specifically, he referred to the possibility of installing a booth with material to speed up interventions.
For the Port Authority, the solution is getting closer and closer. "We have, in collaboration with all the social forces of Lanzarote, a plan to recover the area, to make it more visible, more commercial... There will be more activity there so that it is not an uninhabited area, which is what has allowed it to become what it has become."
Javier Sánchez wanted to convey his condolences to the family of the little one, who died after the vehicle driven by his mother fell into the water: "We have all felt and greatly regretted the death of the child."