A young woman barely twenty years old died this Thursday after half a palm tree fell on her in the Raval neighborhood of Barcelona. The events took place between Emili Vendrell square and Joaquín Costa street, around four in the afternoon. Then a large palm tree about ten meters high, one of the trees found in the square, broke more or less in half, and a good part of the trunk and the entire crown fell diagonally towards the street. . The City Council is already investigating the causes of this event.
“I ran out of the bar and approached her,” says the manager of a take-away food establishment located right in front of the place. The girl was no longer moving, and her blood was spreading… We called 911 and a couple of agents from the Urban Guard arrived immediately. They tried to revive her, but it was not possible. They couldn’t do anything for her anymore.” Then, a few minutes later, more municipal police officers arrived, agents from the Mossos d’Esquadra, three crews from the city fire brigade and another three from the Sistema d’Emergències Mèdiques.
“Let’s see,” residents of the area later agreed, “what happens here is that they haven’t done proper pruning for a long time.” “And up there, in the crown, there was a parrot nest. Do you know how many kilos these nests can weigh?” “About a year ago a branch fell from one of the trees. Fortunately, he didn’t hit anyone.” “Yes – they confirm in the Eix Raval merchants association -, and a tree also fell in the Aureli Campnay square. The truth is that since we’re in a drought we don’t see many maintenance jobs in the neighbourhood”.
The victim is a known person on this side of the neighborhood. She had been very involved, for years, in an entity called Metzineres, a non-profit cooperative that helps many women with tremendously complicated pasts to rebuild their lives. The premises of this cooperative are located just a couple of blocks from the scene of the events. There everyone is despondent. “She had been living her life in the Raval for a long time. We will not give more details. We still have to talk to the family.”
The Consistory and the Mossos have already opened two investigations. The executive of the mayor Jaume Collboni will meet this Friday with those responsible for the Parcs i Jardins area. “We will meet all the people involved who have to work together to clarify the facts,” declared the deputy mayor and accidental mayoress, Maria Eugènia Gay.
And the truth is that this tragedy could have been even more terrible. The palm tree in question fell right next to a worker from the municipal cleaning services who was passing by. She “she passed me by the side and…”. In fact, the branches hit the cleaning vehicle. The employee had gotten out to empty a trash can. She was completely shocked, but she did not suffer any injuries. In addition, the crossing of Emili Vendrell and Joaquín Costa during the afternoons of August seems like a desert. But as soon as it cools down a bit, it becomes one of the busiest points in the Raval. Here many people tend to settle down to drink a few cans, among many skaters, tourists and neighbors who come and go.
