‘Headless’ child’s body is found on a Spanish beach, prompting police probe
The body of a ‘headless’ child is found on a Spanish beach, prompting a police investigation
- The young child’s remains were found in the sand early this morning
- A municipal cleaner made the grim discovery and alerted his bosses who called the police
Police are investigating the discovery of a ‘headless’ child body on a Spanish beach.
The remains of the little boy, believed to be between the ages of two and three, were discovered early this morning on a beach in the Costa Dorada resort of Roda de Berà in the eastern coast’s Tarragona province.
A municipal cleaner made the grim discovery and alerted his bosses who called the police.
The child’s body, said to be missing other body parts and the head and believed to have been washed onto the beach from the water, is in a state of decomposition.
Civil Guard agents have cordoned off the area and are moving locals and holidaymakers to other parts of the sand before an investigating judge authorizes the removal of the body.
Police are investigating the discovery of the body of a headless child on a beach on Costa. The remains of the boy, believed to be between two and three years old, were found on the sand early this morning
The mayor of Roda de Berà, Pere Virgili, has been quoted in the local press as saying that the youngster may have been on a migrant boat that capsized in the Mediterranean.
The town hall said in a tweet: ‘We inform you that this morning the body of a two to three year old child was found on the shoreline of Costa Dorada beach.
“The area has been cordoned off and officials are waiting for the judge to authorize the removal of the body. We ask the public to avoid the area.”
Mr. Virgili told El País: “An operator saw what he thought was a two- or three-year-old child.”
The mayor said the council worker saw the child lying face up, which initially gave the impression that it was a doll.
“He’s not wearing the right clothes to be on the beach,” Mr Virgili added, explaining that the body was dressed in “a bodysuit, some kind of tracksuit and a jacket.”
A spokesman for the Guardia Civil said: “All we can confirm at this point is that the body of a baby has been found on the beach of Roda de Berà in the province of Tarragona.
The alarm was sounded at 8:50 this morning. The case is still under investigation.’
It is clear that some of the first people to discover the human remains initially thought they were looking at a doll due to the decomposed state of the body and did not contact the police.
The remains of the boy, believed to be between two and three years old, were found in the Costa Dorada resort of Roda de Berà in the eastern coast’s Tarragona province.
When officers from the Guardia Civil arrived, it was confirmed that the body was a child.
The remains were removed around 11:30 a.m. local time after court clearance.
An autopsy will take place in the next few hours to determine the cause of death.
Roda de Berà is a 25-minute drive north of Tarragona. Barcelona is just over an hour’s drive to the north.
Known for its Roman arch, the town was mainly devoted to agriculture until the second half of the 20th century, when it became an important tourist resort on the Costa Dorada.