The little girl was tragically killed while on a beach with her father in Formentera when several large blocks of rocks fell on them – her parents are now suing for negligence
A two-month-old baby has tragically died after being crushed to death by a rockslide on a Spanish beach.
The little girl was killed instantly while out in Formentera in the Balearics with her father, who was seriously injured in the tragic 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 the 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 parents and their two daughters, residents of nearby Mallorca, were on the beach of Es Copinar. According to the complaint, they had come to that place to enjoy their holidays in Formentera and spend a peaceful day of sun and beach.
The family, with their little baby, were staying in an area of the beach where there was no announced restriction. But at some point, when the father, then 33, was with the little baby, a large part of the cornice suddenly detached.
Several large blocks of rocks fell on the man and his baby, who were crushed. A rock hit the body of the father and his youngest daughter directly. The baby died and the father suffered serious injuries, for which he was hospitalised and required medical and surgical treatment.
The mother was not at the scene of the accident when the rocks fell on the baby and her dad, 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.
When the incident happened, one of the first people to intervene was a swimmer named Albert, who was on the beach with his partner, a few metres away from the dad and his baby, reported Diario De Ibiza. He said he tried to help the pair alongside other swimmers – and added that when the emergency services arrived, they “began by giving the baby a first examination in which it seemed that she was quite stable.”
However, “after a few minutes she collapsed and then they had to resuscitate her a couple of times,” he said. According to the eyewitness, the baby “was under the rock” and two people worked together to get her out.
Marga Prohens, President of the Balearic Islands, issued a statement on social media after the tragic incident. She wrote on X: “As a mother, it is difficult not to think of the suffering of the family at this time.”