Grandmother chokes to death at grandson's communion in Gijón restaurant

The incident occurred at approximately 4 pm in the dining room of the La Hacienda de la Llorea Golf restaurant. Mrs Díaz, a well-known local resident who ran the La Bombilla restaurant in Caldones, was enjoying a meal with 15 family members when she began to choke on a piece of sirloin steak.

Witnesses described "truly dramatic and distressing moments" as the grandmother struggled to breathe. Two off-duty police officers - one from the local force and one from the national police - who were attending a different communion at the same venue, rushed to her aid and performed the Heimlich manoeuvre.

Emergency medical services and an ambulance arrived shortly after to find the woman in cardiorespiratory arrest. Although paramedics successfully revived her at the scene, she was transferred in a critical condition to the Hospital de Cabueñes, where she was later pronounced dead. The Guardia Civil provided an escort for the ambulance to ensure it reached the hospital as quickly as possible.

In a moving turn of events, just 90 minutes after the death was confirmed, the father of the young boy and son-in-law of the deceased returned to the restaurant to settle the bill.

Paula Capela, the maître d' at La Hacienda de la Llorea Golf, was deeply affected by the gesture. "I have never experienced a situation like this," she said today, still in shock. "It is incredibly sad to come to your grandson’s communion only for such a tragedy to occur. We offer our deepest condolences to the family for their loss on such a significant day."