Rockslide isolates Montserrat monastery in Spain


dpa German Press Agency
Published: Tuesday January 2, 2007

Barcelona- A massive rockslide Tuesday largely isolated the monastery of Montserrat near Barcelona, one of the top tourist attractions in north-eastern Spain, firefighters said. Several rocks weighing some 27 tons each rolled down from the height of about 200 metres onto the entrance road and parking lot of the 980-year-old monastery, perched at 725 metres on a mountainside and housing a famous statue of a black Virgin Mary.

The rockslide was not thought to have caused injuries or damaged vehicles, but it cut off road and rail links to the monastery which is now reachable only by cable car.

© 2006 dpa German Press Agency