Ramblers warn of open wells adjoining footpath in Albatera’s Rambla Salada area

CARLOS, a hiker whose dog died after falling into a 64-metre well in Albatera, complained that it remains uncovered.

Out walking with friends and their four dogs in January, he realised that his own, named Toti, had disappeared. They eventually discovered that he had fallen to the bottom of an uncovered well.

Carlos has told the Spanish media that there are at least three open wells in the Rambla Salada area and called on the town hall to solve the problem.

As well as notifying he town hall, he and his friends tried unsuccessfully to lodge an official complaint with the Guardia Civil.

“They said that as the wells were on public, not private land, there was nothing they could do,” Carlos said.

Asked for her comments, Albatera’s mayor Ana Serna replied that all the wells were originally closed off.  If they had been uncovered, this was the work of vandals, she said.