Torremolinos fatal accident: Victim's fight for residency cut short by falling tree
Maroua was on her way to receive her residence card when the wind knocked over a palm tree 450 metres from the police station
Morocco-native Maroua died at the age of 31 on Tuesday when a tree fell on her near the police station in Torremolinos, where she was headed to receive her long-awaited residence card.
Maroua lived in the area of Carretera de Cadiz in Malaga city. Her struggle to get the 'tarjeta de residencia' reflects the waiting process many foreigners undergo in the hopes of regularising their migrant status in Spain. She had to prove at least two years of residency (and 'empadronamiento' registration) to apply for the permit and secure herself a more stable future.
On 27 January, Maroua travelled to Torremolinos, where she had an appointment at the police station to receive her residence card. Around 1pm, the wind that reached 80km/h that day uprooted a palm tree some 450 metres from the station.
The tree fell on Maroua, inflicting severe injuries to her leg and thorax. A Guardia Civil officer was the first to come to her aid. The medical staff mobilised to the scene could not resuscitate her and she was pronounced dead.
Maroua was just minutes away from finally being a legal resident of Spain.
