A 58-year-old man was killed by a falling bough as he sat on a park bench in Madrid. He had only just sat down when it dropped onto his head.

Once his condition was stabilized, he was rushed to Hospital Gregorio Marañón but he later died from his injuries.

Although there were no high winds that would bring a healthy branch down, it appears that this 4-metre long branch was diseased.

It was the kiosk owner just across the road from the bench that alerted the emergency services via 112. He later said that he hadn’t initially realised that anybody was underneath the fallen foliage until a group of passers-bye pointed out that there was somebody underneath the leafy branch.

When the emergency services arrived on the scene they immediately set up a mobile medical facility of the military-tent kind whilst firemen cut up and removed the branch from on top of the victim.

It’s not the first time that there has been a branch accident in that area of Madrid – locals claim that some weeks ago a branch came down on the same street, Camino de Vinateros, falling on top of a parked car.

Consequently, locals are calling for the City Hall to improve their park & garden services, and make frequent inspections of the trees as it is only normal in the summer for elderly citizens to sit on the park benches that offer shade from nearby trees.

The Councillor for the Environment & Mobility, Inés Sabanés, laments the death of the said man at a press call but pointed out that the tree showed no signs of being in a dangerous condition. She also announced that her department would initiate an investigation.

(News: Madrid, Spain)