Tragedy struck in the Salamanca province when a 13-year-old died during celebrations for the win against Argentina.
Published On 20 Jul 2026
A 13-year-old died and another child was among the injured when a fountain partially collapsed in western Spain during mass celebrations of the country’s second football World Cup final victory, regional emergency services have said.
The accident occurred shortly after midnight on Monday in Ciudad Rodrigo, a walled medieval city of about 12,000 in Salamanca province, near the border with Portugal.
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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, 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.
It is understood that the fountain collapsed under the weight of numerous people who had climbed onto it to celebrate Spain’s first World Cup victory since 2010.
“A few minutes after 12:30 am local time, rescue services received calls over a fountain collapsing on numerous people,” emergency services said in a post on X, adding that another youth, believed to be in a serious condition with a broken leg, was among the injured.
Spain beat Argentina 1-0 to win the 2026 edition of FIFA’s showpiece global event, which was staged at New York New Jersey Stadium by cohosts United States.
The match was 0-0 after regulation time, forcing the game to extra time where Ferran Torres scored the only goal of the game.