Teenager dies in Spain after fountain collapses during World Cup celebrations

The Spanish flag in Madrid, Spain, Friday, Oct. 23, 2020. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez, File)

MADRID -- A 13-year-old died and two people were injured when a fountain partially collapsed in western Spain in the early hours on Monday, marring mass celebrations of the country’s second-ever soccer World Cup victory, emergency services said.

The accident occurred shortly after midnight in Ciudad Rodrigo, a walled medieval city of about 12,000 in Salamanca province, near the border with Portugal.

Hundreds of residents had gathered at the Arbol Gordo fountain in the city’s centre when the upper part of the monument broke loose and struck several people, regional emergency services said.

In a statement, Ciudad Rodrigo’s town hall expressed condolences for the victim.

“The entire city feels this loss and accompanies the minor’s friends and family in their grief ... What should have been a celebration of the Spanish national team’s World Cup victory has turned into a tragedy,” it said.

(Reporting by David Latona; Editing by- Andrei Khalip)