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Mystery 'explosion' rattles windows across Orihuela Costa and Torrevieja
The loud bang that shook the Costa Blanca on Wednesday has been traced to military fighter jets
If you were sitting at home in Orihuela Costa or Torrevieja on Wednesday afternoon, February 5, and nearly jumped out of your skin when a massive bang shook your windows, you definitely weren't the only one!
The noise hit at exactly 4:12pm and lasted only a few seconds, but it was loud enough to send residents rushing to their windows wondering what on earth had just happened.
With no storm in sight and no earthquake recorded (despite them being fairly common around the southern Costa Blanca), attention quickly turned to the Pilatus training flights from San Javier that regularly fly along the coast from Murcia to Torrevieja. But those usually stick to morning sessions.
The culprit appears to have been Eurofighter jets conducting exercises in the area. They won't show up on flight tracking apps because they've switched off their transponders, the devices that allow their flight paths to be monitored, specifically to avoid being tracked during training.
The route of two Italian military aircraft providing cover for the exercises does show up on tracking systems, and they also turned off their transponders when heading back to their base at Albacete military airport.
Residents in Albatera have been hearing aircraft noise during afternoons in recent days too, thanks to increased air traffic from the Tactical Leadership Programme (TLP), an international military training exercise running from January 15 to February 6.
Flights ramped up significantly from January 26, with fighter jets and support aircraft from various allied countries taking part. The Blue team is flying 22 aircraft including Spanish Eurofighters, Belgian, Greek and Portuguese F-16s, French Rafale-Bs and Rafale-Cs, and Czech JAS-39s. The opposing Red Air team has 10 aircraft with French Rafales, Spanish F-18s and more F-16s from Belgium, Greece and Portugal.
So there you have it. Not an earthquake, not a storm, just military jets doing their thing and giving everyone a proper fright in the process.
You might also like: Orihuela Costa private hospital project moves forward with April construction start
Image: Ayuntamiento de Orihuela
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