Girl killed, others injured in giant hailstorm in Spain

Wild footage has emerged from a sudden storm of freakishly large hail in Spain, which killed a one-year-old child and injured dozens of others.

Intense hailstorm batters Catalan, Spain.

A toddler has died after being hit by a giant hailstone during an intense storm in the Catalonia region of northeastern Spain, local officials has confirmed.

Described by a local councillor as “10 minutes of terror”, the intense hailstorm hit the Catalan town of La Bisbal de l’Emporda suddenly about 7.30pm on Tuesday, with freakishly large hailstones measuring up to 11cm wide causing people to run for cover.

Up to 50 people were injured and there was one causality — a 20-month-old girl who died when a large hailstone “fell on her head”, city councillor Carme Vall said.

“She did not survive,” Ms Vall said.

“The hail only fell for 10 minutes, but it was 10 minutes of terror.

“Only hailstones were falling, hardly any rain.”

📰 Nota de premsa:
Pedregada històrica a Catalunya
👉 https://t.co/eNlIida8Lipic.twitter.com/dIkjGb2dhB

— Meteocat (@meteocat) August 31, 2022

The toddler was rushed to the Josep Trueta Hospital in the nearby city of Girona but died overnight from her injuries, the hospital said in a statement.

La Bisbal de l’Emporda local Sicus Carbonell told Reuters there was “chaos” in the town when the hailstorm suddenly struck.

“There was chaos, with little boys and girls running around alone, some parents were able to grab their children,” he said.

“Then a hailstone broke through the fabric … and I told my group that either we get into the restaurant or one of those tennis balls would land on us and we wouldn’t make it.”

Una espectacular pedregada ha ocasionat desperfectes en vidres de cotxes i teulades aquesta tarda al Baix Empordà. La tempesta ha estat curta però molt intensa. Imatges de Vulpellac i La Bisbal 👇 pic.twitter.com/OPuHF0q7uJ

— Ràdio Girona - SER Catalunya (@SERGirona) August 30, 2022

About 50 people were injured, according to Reuters. Broken bones and bruising were the most common injuries, and there are also reports of people needing treatment for cuts from ice and head injuries.

Catalonia’s weather office said the hailstones that fell in the area near Spain’s border with France were the largest in 20 years.

Images broadcast on Spanish television showed several cars with shattered windshields or dents in their roofs from the hailstones.

The stained glass windows of the town’s church were also shattered by the impact of the hailstones, photos released by the town hall showed.