Two-month-old baby dies after being crushed to death in horror holiday hotspot rockfall
The little girl was killed instantly while out in Formentera in the Balearics with her father who was seriously injured in the horrific incident. Her parents are now planning to sue for negligence. Relatives of the baby have lodged criminal and civil action, alleging crimes of serious recklessness resulting in death and injury, against Formentera council, the island's government, the Balearic government and the Spanish government.
They say the risk of a rockfall was "visible and unavoidable" and the area where the fatal accident happened had not been marked or roped off, even though it was not the first landslide. The rocks, in a shelf formation, were about 7ft above where they were lying.
The tragedy happened on July 18 last year when the husband and wife and their two daughters, residents of Mallorca, were on the beach of es Copinar, in Formentera. They had come to that place to enjoy their holidays and a peaceful day of sun and beach, according to the complaint.
Together with their youngest daughter, the two-month-old baby, they were staying in an area of the beach where there was no announced restriction. However, at one point and when the father, then 33, was with the child, there was a sudden detachment of a large part of the cornice.
Several large blocks fell on the man and his baby, who were crushed. A rock hit directly on the body of the father and his youngest daughter. The baby died and the father suffered serious injuries, for which he was evacuated, hospitalised and has required medical and surgical treatment.
The mother was not at the scene of the accident at the time, as she was a few metres away playing on the beach with her other child. The complaint states that there had already been other rockfalls in that place and that a council officer had described the cornice as "quite fragile."
Several workers from a nearby restaurant had told the Spanish press that in winter, due to the effects of several storms, there were already several landslides on that same cornice. The family says the death could have been avoided with the correct danger signage.
The injured parties have asked the investigating court to request the reports, files and any documentation relating to the safety and maintenance of the beach from the General Directorate of Coasts of the Government, the Council and the City Council of Formentera, as well as the reports to the Civil Guard, Local Police and firefighters and the medical reports of 061 and the hospital of Formentera.
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