A lorry became tangled in overhead power lines on the A-7 near Mijas on Tuesday, June 30 morning, leaving drivers exposed to live cables on the road and triggering tailbacks that disrupted residents and commuters for hours.

What happened on the A-7 near Calahonda

Emergency services received calls from members of the public at around 8.20am after a lorry struck overhead cables on the Marbella-bound carriageway near kilometre 1022, close to Calahonda. Officials believe the downed cable affected four vehicles in total, with drivers forced to stop suddenly close to a live wire on the carriageway.

Both the right-hand and left-hand lanes were shut at the scene, causing massive congestion stretching up to four kilometres back from the first Mijas junction. Commuters faced lengthy delays during the busy morning rush, unable to pass the danger zone safely.

Major risk to drivers and nearby residents

Live overhead cables falling onto a motorway carry an obvious electrocution risk to drivers and to anyone attempting to move stranded vehicles or assist others nearby. Residents in surrounding areas faced disruption too, with the closure cutting off a key route through Mijas during peak travel hours.

Guardia Civil officers, firefighters and Endesa technicians attended the scene to secure the area, given the danger of wires remaining energised after such a collision. Thankfully, despite the nature of the incident, no injuries have been reported among those involved.

Emergency response and clean-up

Endesa staff worked to assess and remove the damaged cabling with traffic officers managing stranded vehicles and rerouting drivers around the hazard. Authorities have not yet confirmed what caused the lorry to make contact with the lines, nor how long repairs to the damaged power infrastructure may take.

Separate lorry incident near Marbella

Elsewhere on the A-7, a lorry tyre blew out shortly before 7am near kilometre 1045, on the Cadiz-bound carriageway towards Marbella. Debris partially blocked the right-hand lane, producing a separate jam of roughly 1.5 kilometres during peak rush hour traffic, not a good morning for drivers across the Costa del Sol.

Local councils are battling a massive invasion of Asian seaweed (Rugulopteryx okamurae) that has prompted the Junta de Andalucia to declare the situation one of “force majeure and extreme necessity.”

Heavy machinery and night shifts battle beach invasion

Marbella council teams have been working intensively to clear the invasive brown seaweed from local sand. Environment councillor Diego Lopez reported that the town hall had removed roughly 10,000 tonnes of seaweed so far this year, nearly double the approximate 5,300 tonnes removed in all of 2025. Earlier in the year, a single-day operation cleared 374 tonnes from Nueva Andalucia beach alone, proving how fast the algae accumulates even outside peak summer season.

In Estepona, town hall figures show 1,100 tonnes collected at La Rada beach over five days of emergency operations, with more than 1,000 additional tonnes estimated across Buenas Noches, Guadalobon, La Cala, El Velerin and El Saladillo. The operation runs on continuous shifts (noon to midnight) using 35 cleanup workers, 7 tractors, 3 tanker trailers, a 4×4 truck, 2 backhoes, 7 seaweed-removal machines and a dump truck. Further along the coast, Malaga city cleaning teams have also reported a heavier-than-usual workload at popular beaches.

Town halls demand urgent financial support

Lopez confirmed that Marbella has already spent more than €1 million of public money on seaweed cleanup this year. He said the council has raised the issue six times in recent years, but there is still no state funding or national action plan. A motion passed in June 2026 calling on Spain’s central government to provide emergency funding and develop a coordinated national strategy. According to reports from the June 26 plenary session, the local PSOE group voted against the motion, a decision criticised by the ruling PP group.

On April 29, 2026, the Junta de Andalucia formally declared the seaweed invasion a situation of “force majeure and extreme necessity”. This legal status exempts councils from paying Spain’s €30-per-tonne landfill tax when disposing of the seaweed. The measure was welcomed by hard-hit areas such as Tarifa, which spent more than €100,000 last year transporting the algae to landfill.

The scale of the problem is regional, the Junta estimates an annual biomass of around 100,000 tonnes of fresh seaweed in the Strait of Gibraltar area alone, with the volume taken to landfill in some towns (e.g. Rota) tripling in 2024 and multiplying eightfold in 2025.

Ruined fishing nets and smelly beaches cause alarm

Rotting seaweed piles continue to cause problems for local businesses and wildlife. Thick mats of the algae alter marine habitats, reduce biodiversity and disrupt local ecosystems. Local fishermen face torn nets and rising costs from repairs, with beachfront businesses fearing lost summer trade as the weed rots quickly in the heat, producing a strong smell and attracting flies.