Almeria homeowner has lucky escape as boulder smashes into roof

Almeria homeowner has a lucky escape as a boulder smashes into his roof

The inhabitants of a home in Barranco de Caballar, in Almeria province, had a lucky escape last Sunday, December 12. Two large rocks tumbled down the slopes of the Barranco Caballar, and crashed into their farmhouse-style house.

Homeowner, Esteban Salmeron, lives in the house with his wife and brother. Luckily nobody was hurt, but Esteban told how, at around 5:30pm, the first rock smashed into the side of the farmhouse. A second boulder, about three metres long, and more than two metres in diameter, crashed down onto the roof of the building, almost splitting it in two.

The family immediately evacuated the house, and now have to wait for the giant rock to be removed before they can risk going back inside again. “What fell on the roof looked like a bomb, it’s a rock, the size of a car”, explained Esteban. This huge object is now embedded in the roof, half outside, and the other half inside, where it has brought the ceiling down.

It appears that the beams supporting the roof stopped the boulder from completely obliterating the home. There are fears though that they will not hold its massive weight for a lot longer.

Mr Salmeron and his family received help from the Local Police and firefighters after the incident. Then, on the morning of Monday 13, he headed to the town hall in search of a solution.

“I’m not asking for much, just that you help me remove the rock. We have gone to the house of one of my children, but it is a room without an elevator, and my wife cannot walk. We want to return as soon as possible. I pay my taxes, and what I want is for them to do their duty”, he explained angrily.

Mr Salmeron said he was upset, because, “In Urban Planning, they have made me dizzy from one place to another, until they have made me fill out a paper and that’s it, and now what?”.

A spokesperson for the town hall assured however that the urban planning department guided the affected person to complete the appropriate documentation in the Registry. This will then enable them to adopt the appropriate measures.

A technician has reportedly already made a visit, and is proceeding to draft a report that will determine the cause of the accident, and the actions to be carried out. It will also determine who is responsible for repairing the damage, as reported by diariodealmeria.es.

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