Two people died this Tuesday in separate accidents registered in irrigation facilities in the regions of La Noguera and El Pla d'Urgell, on a day marked by two emergency interventions in different points of the Lleida demarcation.
The first victim was a 73-year-old woman, a resident of Balaguer, who died drowned after falling inside an irrigation manhole in La Ràpita, a hamlet of Vallfogona de Balaguer. The alert to emergency services was received at 6:01 p.m.
An accidental fall in La Ràpita
The woman had gone out for a walk in the afternoon with a friend. During the walk, both sat down to rest on an irrigation box. At that moment the fall occurred, in what everything indicates was accidentally, according to police sources.
The companion tried to get her out of the water, but did not succeed. As she did not carry a mobile phone, she had to move in search of help to Hostal Nou, another nucleus of Vallfogona de Balaguer, where she was able to alert of what had happened.
Three units of the Generalitat Firefighters, SEM ambulances, and Mossos d'Esquadra patrols moved to the scene. When they arrived, the victim was with half of their body submerged in the water of the manhole and it was no longer possible to save their life. Before 9:00 p.m., funeral services removed the body.
The Mossos have opened an investigation to clarify the exact circumstances of the death.
Another body found in an irrigation ditch between Castellnou de Seana and Golmés
Hours later, the lifeless body of a man of African origin was located in an irrigation ditch situated between the municipal terms of Castellnou de Seana and Golmés, in the Pla d'Urgell. The emergency services mobilized to the area also could do nothing to save his life.
Sources familiar with the case indicate that the deceased would be a field worker who resided in the city of Lleida. The same sources indicate that he fell into the irrigation ditch and was dragged by the water, although the causes of the fall are unknown and remain under investigation.
Relatives of the worker went to look for him and located his belongings in the area. That discovery was what finally led to finding the body in the irrigation canal.
Background in the regions of Lleida
The fatal accident in La Ràpita adds to other similar incidents recorded in recent years in the regions of Lleida. It is at least the third accidental death in 15 years due to falls into irrigation manholes.
In July 2016, a 74-year-old farmer from Vilanova de Bellpuig died after falling into an irrigation manhole while watering a cornfield.
In April 2011, a 67-year-old resident of Balaguer died after falling into an irrigation outlet when he was lifting the gate to water an orchard he owned in Térmens.
In October 2024, a 54-year-old resident of Torrelameu died after falling into an irrigation pond in the municipality.
The two cases this Tuesday keep open police investigations to clarify how the falls occurred in some agricultural infrastructures which, recurrently, are again present in fatal accidents in the Lleida demarcation.