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Tania Agúndez
Badajoz
Wednesday, 21 August 2024, 15:16
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A resident of Alía has died after a helicopter extinguishing a nearby forest fire dropped water on him in Cáceres in western Spain.
Ramón González López, 79, died on Tuesday (20 August) in the intensive care unit at the University Hospital of Cáceres after he was seriously injured last Saturday when the helicopter dropped the water on him whilst battling a blaze.
Following the man's death, confirmed to SUR's sister newspaper HOY by municipal sources who have been in contact with the victim's family, he will be buried this Wednesday evening at 6pm in the parish of Santa Catalina.
The town council of Alía has declared three days of official mourning in the municipality of Cáceres. From today (21 August) until next Friday the flags of all municipal buildings will fly at half-mast. "From the town hall we join in the grief of his family and friends. We send an embrace of strength and resilience to all his family, who are facing this difficult time," the council said.
Ramón González leaves behind a wife, two children (a son and a daughter) and several grandchildren. His entire family was in Alía on the day of his death.
Although he left for Madrid as a young man for work, he lived between Alía and the Spanish capital. He spent long periods of time with his wife in Extremadura since they were retired. During his working life, Ramón worked in the construction sector. He would have turned 80 years old in October.
"He was a well-known and much-loved person. Very endearing. He was very active. He always participated and was very involved in the town's activities. It has been a shock for the town," said the town's mayor Cristina Ramírez.
The tragic event occurred on Saturday 17 August when fire authorities declared a Level One risk for a forest fire in the municipality of Alía, a municipality in the southeast of Cáceres.
The man was injured during the firefighting work carried out by the forest fire brigade when water from one of the helicopters fighting the blaze fell on him. He had gone over to help put out the flames when at that moment the helicopter dropped its water. "When there is a fire near the village, the local residents try to help with buckets of water and hoses," Ramírez said.
The fire broke out when the town was experiencing its last days of festivities. Following these events, the activities planned for the rest of the weekend were cancelled. "These are very hard times for the town, both because of the fire and because of this event," the mayor said at the time.
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