Over 50 people were injured in the short but intense storm
A one-year-old girl has tragically died after being struck by a four-inch hailstone during a storm in Spain.
The unnamed girl was reportedly hit with the orange-sized chunk of ice on Tuesday in the Catalan town of La Bisbal d’Empordà. She was rushed to Josep Trueta Hospital in Girona but sadly died this morning as a result of severe head trauma.
Roughly 50 people are believed to have been injured in the storm, many of whom suffered broken bones or cuts from the falling ice. One woman remains in hospital.
Una espectacular pedregada ha ocasionat desperfectes en vidres de cotxes i teulades aquesta tarda al Baix Empordà. La tempesta ha estat curta però molt intensa. Imatges de Vulpellac i La Bisbal
pic.twitter.com/OPuHF0q7uJ
— Ràdio Girona – SER Catalunya (@SERGirona) August 30, 2022
The ongoing storm is said to have also done considerable damage to property and vehicles, with roof tiles and solar panels damaged.
Catalan weather chiefs said that the hail was the largest in 20 years, having first begun at around 7:30pm on Tuesday. The young girl was hit shortly after, and the hail subsided after around 15 minutes.
The nationality of the toddler is not yet known.
Enormous hail in Catalonia
The size of the splashes as the ice hits the pool is insane.Large hailstones bombarded parts of #Spain on Tuesday. Definitely not a good day to be in the pool.
Bisbal d'Empordà,
Via : Twitter // MeteoGasso pic.twitter.com/5SFoXqpgbH
— CS NOTICIAS COAHUILA (@CsNoticias_Coah) August 31, 2022
Murcia Today reported that emergency services had received more than 40 calls “due to different damage to buildings and wiring.” Pictures and video captured during the deluge show the size of the ice – which was around the size of a tennis ball – littering the ground and nearby vehicles.
In one video, huge splashes can be seen as the ice hits a swimming pool, and in another, a large “thud” can be heard as the ice chunks hit the ground.
Millions of ice cubes from the sky destroy Spain! Hail storm strikes Girona. Valencia pic.twitter.com/FlvI4fBqLz
— #كابتن_غازي_عبداللطيف (@CaptainGhazi) August 30, 2022
More storms are expected for Spain after a series of scorching weeks left much of Europe in weather warnings and droughts.
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