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Government says Mallorca holidays safe

DPA/The Local
DPA/The Local - [email protected]
Government says Mallorca holidays safe
Video grab of attack which killed two policemen. Photo: DPA

The German government has told people planning to go to Mallorca on holiday this summer not to be scared off by the terrorist bombing which killed two policeman on Thursday.

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Nor should reports of Germans getting infected with the A/H1N1 virus on the Spanish island stop those preparing to take a break there, said Ernst Hinsken, tourism spokesman for the government.

“There is no reason to advise against travelling to Spain,” he told the Passauer Neue Presse newspaper. “The Foreign Ministry is not doing so. It is simply calling for people to carefully follow the media reports in that country.”

Two policeman were killed when a bomb exploded outside the police station in the holiday resort town of Palmanova. No one else was hurt in the attack, but it seen as a new departure in the campaign by Basque independence group ETA, which is assumed to have been responsible.

“Until now, there has always been a warning when there has been danger for others, when tourist targets have been attacked,” said Hinsken. “That was not the case this time.”

Thousands of locals demonstrated against the terror attack on Friday, calling for an end to ETA’s violent campaign.

The government in Mallorca sealed off airports briefly after the bombing, but transport links have since been restored. Pictures have been released of a couple suspected to have been behind the bombing.

They had been staying in a holiday flat in Palma, were noticed speaking Basque with each other and have not been seen since the attack. It is thought they are still on the island, so police have set up checks at the airports and harbours.

Reports of Germans bringing back the A/H1N1 virus back from holiday on the Spanish island should also not scare off tourists, said Hinsken.

“The World Health Organisation and the authorities here in Germany are following developments very closely. Until now they have not issued a travel warning for specific countries, nor in general,” he said.

Up to 200,000 Germans are on the island at the moment.

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