Majorcan beaches closed after sea flooded with faeces

Beaches on the holiday island of Majorca have been forced to close after torrential rain caused sewers to fill up with faeces.

Ageing sewers on the island have been unable to cope with the heavy rainfall, forcing the local authorities to shut the beaches around Cala Major since Saturday.

Cala Major is roughly halfway between the island’s capital of Palma and the party resort of Magaluf.

The closure of the beaches on Majorca comes amid concerns that the out of date sewerage system has led to partly treated waste being pumped into the waters of the Mediterranean.  

Sewage water is seen dumped in Majorca’s Albufera Natural Park close to the ocean 

A week earlier, the city beach of Can Pere Antoni in Palma was closed due to problems with sewage water. 

According to local media, major investment has been planned to renovate the island’s ageing sewage facilities.

A local newspaper said that Majorca’s sewers are just unable to absorb huge quantities of rain and wrote that in such a case ‘waste water always goes to the beach’. 

Majorca’s beaches drawn British holiday makers in their droves but they were forced off the sand by sewage in the sea

Authorities on the island do not know when holidaymakers will be allowed to go in the sea again

It is not yet known when the situation will improve and authorities will allow holidaymakers to go again into the sea. 

It is currently unclear if a medical emergency on one of the beaches is related to the polluted water.

A young holidaymaker suddenly became sick on Sunday while sitting at a beach bar in Cala Major.

Her name and nationality were not made public by the authorities, who only noted that she was a foreign tourist.

She had to be taken to a local a local hospital where she was examined by a doctor.