Disturbances occur in Spanish resort after death of Senegalese man

There were serious disturbances in the popular Spanish holiday resort of Salou in the Catalan region following the death of a 50-year-old Senegalese man during a police operation against people selling counterfeit goods, it was reported Wednesday.

The man is reported to have died after jumping from a third-floor balcony during a police raid in the early hours of Tuesday morning.

The Catalan regional police were carrying out a raid to try to seize counterfeit goods, which is routinely sold on the beach at Salou when the incident occurred.

A police spokesman confirmed there had been no altercation with the man who died, saying he had jumped when the police arrived at his flat, which was suspected of being a storage place for counterfeit goods.

The death of the man, who was reported to have been living in the flat for several years and never causing any problems, aroused tensions in the Sant Jordi square where very quickly becoming filled with immigrants protesting the death of their companion.

There were scuffles between protestors and police, with incidents of stone throwing and burning rubbish containers.

The Senegalese ambassador to Spain traveled to Salou in order to try and calm down nerves, but tensions rose again as a group of immigrants blocked railway lines going through the town.

A total of 12 arrests were made in the original police operation, while at least one more was made as a result of the protest, while 24 people needed to be treated for minor injuries. Endit