A 14-year-old teenager was walking from his home to the gym in Lota, Chile, on the afternoon of Tuesday, July 14, when a piece of a linden tree broke off during the powerful frontal system battering the Bío Bío region. The blow left him immobilized on the ground, right in front of a security camera that recorded every second of the impact on Los Tilos downhill road.
Firefighters, SAMU and municipal personnel arrived at the scene and stabilized him before transferring him to Lota Hospital. Hours later, he was referred to Guillermo Grant Benavente Hospital in Concepción, where tests were performed to rule out neurological damage.
The young man remains stable and out of life-threatening danger. Mayor Jaime Vásquez acknowledged that the municipality has previously warned about the danger posed by trees in the commune, but does not have the staff or equipment to address them in time.