Arsonist leaves a third of Melilla offline for days
Arsonist leaves a third of Melilla offline for days
A YOUNG man who caused a fire that left a third of Melilla without internet or phone for several days has been remanded in custody.
The 20-year-old Moroccan, who lives in the Spanish port city close to the Algerian border, is believed to have deliberately started a blaze in the early hours of Tuesday, June 12 in a gallery beneath the Triana bridge which houses copper wiring and fibreoptic cables.
An estimated 29,000 residents – a third of the enclave's 86,000 inhabitants – and one in three businesses had no mobile phone or internet connection for nearly a week, meaning retailers could not take card payments and offices and other premises were in complete chaos.
In addition to the cost of repairing the lines, the losses caused to residents and traders have so far been estimated at around €400,000.
The culprit was caught a week after the fire, by which time phone lines and internet had only just been completely restored.
