A THIRTY-year-old Spaniard was killed in Spain’s Catalonia region on Saturday in a freak accident, after he was hit on the head by a church bell at local fiestas.
The incident took place at the Sant Llorenc church in El Pinell de Brai, a municipality in Tarragona province.
He was struck on the head by the bell at around 7.30am, causing a fatal skull fracture.
Ambulance crews were only able to confirm his death, and fire crews were called in an hour later to bring the body down from the bell tower in the church.
The victim was named as Joan Vallespi. He was a member of a family who is originally from the municipality but now lives in another part of Spain.
The local council cancelled the rest of the celebrations that were planned as part of the local fiestas, and declared three days of mourning.
It is tradition at the Santa Magdalena fiestas in the municipality for people to access the church and the bell tower, so that they can ring the bell. It was during this activity that the young man was struck by the revolving bell, according to local press reports.