The Marchena tragedy reopens the debate on safety in the Three Kings parade

• Marchena It is being investigated whether a mechanical failure of the tractor could have caused the accident at the Marchena parade

• Malaga A child dies after being run over by a float from the parade of the Three Kings

The tragedy overshadowed the night of Three Kings in

(Seville) and the accident that has cost the life of one of its neighbors, Lola, and

, including two children under the age of 2 and 12, has put a more than A sad end to Christmas in this Sevillian municipality, but it has also reopened the debate on the security measures that accompany the

, a centuries-old tradition that has had to adapt to changing times.

The measures adopted by the town halls for the day of the parade involve

that look for wide streets and squares to avoid, as far as possible, large crowds;

fencing the course to maintain physical distance between the crowd and the floats;

have an

and evacuation plan;

or deploy important security devices that include agents of the Local Police, State Security Forces and Corps, Civil Protection and even volunteers.

State in which the wrecked float was left in Marchena.Fermín CabanillasEFE

In Marchena they also had their security plan, as explained at a press conference on the same morning as Reyes by its mayoress,

, and the chief deputy inspector of the Local Police,

, but on the night of January 5 - the children's - the unforeseen happened.

The tractor that pulled the carriage of King Baltasar lost control when it went down a small slope as it passed through La Mina street and in its progress it ran over this septuagenarian, a former worker at the town's nursing home;

several musicians from the band of the Hermandad del Dulce Nombre who were part of the royal entourage and numerous people who had come to this strategic point of the route to see the procession and take, as tradition dictates, some candies.

Lola

, mother of three children and grandmother of several grandchildren,

practically

after the vehicle rammed -which ended up embedded against the façade of a house on Las Torres street- and the injured -some of whom had to be

with a reserved prognosis - were transferred to different health centers in the province to be treated, specifically, the Hospital de La Merced, in Osuna, and the Virgen del Rocío, in Seville.

Two of the six people who remained hospitalized have been discharged this Saturday at the Osuna hospital, as reported to EFE by Health sources.

brake failure

Early indications point to the tractor's brakes failing.

Although the vehicle, guarded by the Civil Guard in a warehouse ceded to the individual by the city council, is still pending the mandatory expert review that will undoubtedly shed light on what happened.

Unfortunately, accidents during the march of the royal retinues on January 5 are more frequent than it may seem at first glance and although, fortunately, not all of them end in fatalities, this

that a spectator has lost their life after being run over .

for a carriage

comments to EL MUNDO

in relation to what happened.

She and her husband, Manuel, have collaborated as

in the

(Málaga).

This year her daughters were going out in the float with one of the Three Wise Men and like some other parents, they offered to help.

She had to escort the procession and with the idea of ​​preventing mishaps, the order they were given from the organization was to prevent the public from getting too close to the floats, especially children and grandparents.

They go for the candy

"People saw a candy and jumped for it without noticing anything," says Gloria, for whom this was her first time collaborating with the event.

"Thank goodness there was

," she adds, "and still, accidents are accidents and they happen."

Her experience, from within, has made her reflect and she now sees the party in a different way.

The mishap in which Lola died in Marchena occurred on the same day as the

, the six-year-old boy from Malaga whose life was also cut off forever on another tragic January 5th during the passage of a parade of Reyes, on that occasion, that of Malaga.

Between the two events, exactly a decade has elapsed, but in the memory of both families, still unknown, the night of the Three Kings will never again be that festive, magical and joyful day that most enjoy.

For Lola's children and grandchildren, this date will remain engraved in their hearts and although the passage of time will ease their pain, the day of the ride will always be for them -as it is for Miguel's father and family- the day in which a loved one lost their life that they will surely not forget.

On

Miguel was six years old and, like many other children his age, was watching the parade and trying to fill his pockets with sweets.

The chosen place, the General Torrijos square in the capital of Malaga.

At one point, Miguel bent down to pick up some candies that had fallen on the road and a carriage from the procession

.

The emergency teams that approached the place where the child was found could not save his life.

The parade, at the request of the grieving father, continued its journey but the event is part of the saddest memories of Malaga and marked a before and after when planning this popular event in the city.

According to the criteria of The Trust Project

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