Malaga launches emergency tree inspection as number of falling branches surges

The latest incident occurred on Sunday night, when a large ficus tree broke in half in a busy square in the La Paz area. No one was hurt.

The environmental sustainability department has announced that it is going to step up "monitoring and control of the urban tree population, comprising 112,000 trees", with a particular focus on trees that "due to their size, appearance or location could pose a greater risk in the event of falling branches, even if the tree in question is in good condition".

The city council has contracted various companies to inspect different areas and maintain their green spaces.

The immediate task is to check the state of eucalyptus trees, as that was the species that snapped and injured the two young women. One of them remains in hospital and is due to undergo several surgeries.

On Monday, the city council said that "neither the tree as a whole nor the broken branch showed any apparent signs of rot, cavities, previous fractures, significant pest infestation or other visible structural defects that would have indicated a risk of structural failure".

The parents of both girls, however, plan to begin the process of claiming compensation for the harm their daughters have suffered.

The city council said that "work is currently under way to reduce the canopy of trees and, in the case of those that may pose a greater risk, remove and replace them with a species more suited to each area as part of planting campaigns" that have resulted in the planting of "9,684 trees over the last seven years".

Incidents of large tree branches falling in Malaga have become increasingly frequent during this transitional period between August and September, causing alarm and fear among local residents.

Over the last eight days, four such incidents have happened, creating a sense of panic in certain parts of the city.

The incident on Sunday did not cause injuries, but it stirred public worry. It took place at the junction of Calle Realenga de San Luis and Camino de los Guindos, next to the northern wall of Parque del Oeste.

"We heard a loud noise and saw the branches breaking," local resident Juan Antonio Hidalgo told SUR. Moments before this happened, a local woman had walked under this large tree to put her rubbish in one of the bins.

"People are always passing by and children are playing in the area. It's a miracle that nothing bad has happened," Hidalgo said.

On Monday morning, staff from the parks and gardens department went to the site to cut the fallen branches and inspect the ficus tree.

The city council has pointed out thar this tree in La Paz was not classified as posing a risk of falling branches. "It showed no apparent signs of weakness and had undergone an inspection in June," the environmental sustainability department reported.

Two days after the serious incident in Miraflores de los Ángeles, another large branch fell on a vehicle in the northern part of Carlos Haya, without causing any injuries.

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