Reyes tragedy: 'king' dies in parade accident
A 20-year-old man playing King Balthazar in a Three Kings parade in southern Spain has died after being knocked from the float and hitting his head.
The accident happened during Monday’s Three Kings parade in Níjar, in the province of Almeria, Andalusia.
Eyewitnesses described how the float on which the young man was travelling collided with an electricity cable.
The cable caught on the man’s chair, pulling it back and throwing him from the float onto the ground, where he hit his head.
Local mayor Antonio Jesús Rodríguez described how the man suffered ‘a strong blow’ from the impact, reported Spanish daily 20 minutos.
Sources from Andalusia’s health authorities confirmed the young man died in Torrecárdenas hospital after the accident.
The accident casts a sad shadow over traditionally one of the happiest times of the year for Spaniards, who flock to Three Kings parades, or cabalgatas, held in almost every Spanish town the night before the Epiphany.
Spanish children traditionally write their Christmas letters to the Three Kings, rather than Santa Clause, and receive their main Christmas presents on January 6th, a public holiday in Spain.
El @Ayto_Nijar en #Almería Decreta Tres Días de Luto por la Muerte del Joven en la #Cabalgata al Volcar su Trono! pic.twitter.com/pucm7qqeie
— Edgar Pérez Bautista (@EdgarBen10) January 7, 2015
Níjar council has announced three days of mourning for the young man killed after being thrown from his throne.
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The accident happened during Monday’s Three Kings parade in Níjar, in the province of Almeria, Andalusia.
Eyewitnesses described how the float on which the young man was travelling collided with an electricity cable.
The cable caught on the man’s chair, pulling it back and throwing him from the float onto the ground, where he hit his head.
Local mayor Antonio Jesús Rodríguez described how the man suffered ‘a strong blow’ from the impact, reported Spanish daily 20 minutos.
Sources from Andalusia’s health authorities confirmed the young man died in Torrecárdenas hospital after the accident.
The accident casts a sad shadow over traditionally one of the happiest times of the year for Spaniards, who flock to Three Kings parades, or cabalgatas, held in almost every Spanish town the night before the Epiphany.
Spanish children traditionally write their Christmas letters to the Three Kings, rather than Santa Clause, and receive their main Christmas presents on January 6th, a public holiday in Spain.
El @Ayto_Nijar en #Almería Decreta Tres Días de Luto por la Muerte del Joven en la #Cabalgata al Volcar su Trono! pic.twitter.com/pucm7qqeie
— Edgar Pérez Bautista (@EdgarBen10) January 7, 2015
Níjar council has announced three days of mourning for the young man killed after being thrown from his throne.
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