Steep 38-metre slide closes in Spain day after opening following injuries
Authorities deem Costa
del Sol tourist attraction unsafe after complaints
Sam Jones in Madrid Sun 12 May 2019 12.53 BST
A long, steep slide linking two streets in a
southern Spanish town has been closed pending safety checks a day after it
opened to the public.
The 38-metre-long slide in Estepona, on the
Costa del Sol, is intended to give residents of all ages a quick way to travel
between the streets, which sit at
very different levels.
The stainless-steel chute, reputed to be Spain’s
longest, has a gradient that varies between 32 and 34 degrees.
It was unveiled on Thursday but shut the
following day after people complained of injuries, and a video posted on social
media showed a user hurtling down the
slide at fearsome speed and flying
off the end.
“The Estepona slide is a piece of shit,” one
woman wrote on Twitter. “I went on it and got hurt all over. I flew two metres
and the police started to laugh.”
She also posted pictures of her grazed elbows,
adding: “I’m not putting up one of my arse, which is worse.”
On Friday, the council said it had ordered the
company that built the slide to carry out a thorough check.
But it also said that people needed to follow
the instructions posted on the slide, such as riding it sitting up rather than
lying down, keeping arms in and not using it at the same time as other people.
“The image shared widely on social media was an isolated event,” the council said in
a statement.
“More than a thousand people used the slide
correctly [on Thursday] and without incident. Nevertheless, given the
situation, the council has requested a new check to provide maximum guarantees
for users.”
The slide’s inauguration had met with a mischievous response online.
“How long will it take for a drunk foreign
tourist to die on it?” wondered one Twitter user.
“What a fantastic idea this new slide between
streets in Estepona is,” wrote another. “Dentists are going to be rubbing their hands together.”
Courtesy of Guardian News & Media Ltd.
VOCABULARY
Steep: Adjective. A steep increase or decrease in something is a very big increase
or decrease. Consumers are rebelling at
steep price increases. A steep slope rises at a very sharp angle and
is difficult to go up.
San Francisco is built
on 40 hills and some are very steep.
Deem: Verb. To judge or consider. I do not deem him worthy of this honour
Chute: Noun. A chute is a steep, narrow
slope down which people or things can slide. Passengers escaped from the plane's front four exits by sliding down
emergency chutes. Synonyms: slope, channel, slide, incline
Hurt down: Verb with preposition. If someone
or something hurtles somewhere, they move there very quickly, often in a rough
or violent way. A pretty young girl came
hurtling down the stairs.
Thorough: Adjective. A thorough action or
activity is one that is done very carefully and in a detailed way so that
nothing is forgotten.
Statement: Noun. A statement is something that
you say or write which gives information in a formal or definite way.
Mischievous: Adjective. A mischievous person
likes to have fun by playing harmless tricks on people or doing things they are
not supposed to do. (Malicioso,
pícaro)
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