Falling tree kills 12 at Madeira faith festival

A TREE toppled into a crowd of worshippers during a major Christian festival on the Portuguese island of Madeira yesterday, killing 12 people and leaving 50 injured.

The accident happened during Madeira’s biggest annual Roman Catholic festival, which draws big crowds to celebrate the island’s patron saint, Our Lady of the Mount.

Worshippers were struck by the falling tree near a shrine in a park in the hills above the capital, Funchal, as they prepared for a procession.

Pedro Ramos, health secretary of the local government, said 10 people had died at the scene and a further two when they arrived in hospital. He said some of the injured were tourists, including from Germany and France.

The prime minister, Antonio Costa, said: “My thoughts are with the families and friends of the victims and my solidarity is with the citizens of

Madeira.”

An amateur video posted on the website of local newspaper Jornal de Madeira showed the huge tree crashing down into the crowd.

Television showed fire and rescue services working to help victims and cut away the fallen tree. “It was terrible, it was so sudden,” Xavier Nunes, an eyewitness, told SIC television. Local media said the tree was rotten, and had been partly supported by a metal cable.

The festival celebrates the Assumption, or entry into heaven, of the Virgin Mary.

‘My thoughts are with the families and my solidarity is with the citizens of Madeira’