12 killed by falling tree at religious festival
TWELVE people including a child and four foreign visitors have died after a massive tree crashed on to crowds at a religious festival.
Another 52 were injured when the 200-year-old oak, reportedly previously identified as a danger, suddenly toppled over on the holiday island of Madeira.
The tree came down outside a church, landing on tourists and worshippers buying candles to take part in a street procession.
One bystander’s mobile phone footage showed people screaming and running to safety as a cloud of dust and debris filled the air.
Others were seen racing to find their loved ones at the spot where the tree fell in the village of Monte, overlooking the Portuguese island’s capital Funchal. Tragedy struck at midday at the Festa da Senhora do Monte, a major holy gathering which attracts thousands of visitors from all over the world.
A witness who was selling candles near the spot told Portuguese TV the tree crashing down sounded “like gunshots”.
The onlooker added: “We just saw people trying to run away, jumping on top of others, and then the tree fell and I saw six people already lying motionless on the ground. It will mark me for the rest of my life.
“I only had time to run with all the panic. Some people were hit by others. It was terrible.”
Madeira, the home of Portuguese football star Cristiano Ronaldo, is a popular holiday destination for Britons.
Health officials confirmed three of the dead foreigners were German, Hungarian and French but the nationality of the fourth was not known.
Local health chief Pedro Ramos confirmed that 10 people had been killed at the scene and two more, a child and a woman, were dead on arrival at hospital.
Investigations are now to be launched after it emerged the oak was identified as a risk to lives and property three years ago and had steel cable round it.
Locals claimed a court had ordered authorities to cut it and a another old tree down but nothing had been done.