Tributes to Julen on the web as Spain mourns the loss of its son
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The huge efforts made by rescue teams turned out to be in vain. Julen Roselló, the two-year-old boy who fell into a borehole in Totalán, Málaga, on Sunday January 13, was located dead on Saturday at 1.25am, after an intense 13-day search mission.
The emergency services began the judicial process to remove the corpse in the early hours of Saturday, after the family of the young boy were informed of the grim discovery.
“At 1.25am, the rescue teams accessed the point of the borehole where Julen was believed to be and they located the lifeless body of the youngster,” read the message that was conveyed by the subdelegation of the central government at 2.21am, to more than 100 media outlets. “The judicial commission has been set up.”
Julen’s parents, José Roselló and Victoria García, are well-known residents of the neighborhood of El Palo, in Málaga, located at the foot of the mountains where Julen disappeared. In 2017, they lost their other son, Óliver, when he was three years old. He died unexpectedly of a heart attack while the family was walking along a beach, according to residents of the neighborhood.
The three local administrations – of the central, regional and provincial governments – worked with the support of the Totalán local council. In total, around 300 people made up the rescue effort, including firefighters, the 112 Emergency Service, Civil Protection, the Civil Guard, National Police and technical teams from private companies.
How it happened
It is a tragic end to the search for Julen that unfolded when the tot fell down the well in a freak accident as his parents prepared a Sunday lunch paella.
Dad Jose told Spanish media how his son fell down the borehole around 2pm on Sunday as he was getting more firewood.
He told Malaga-based paper Sur: “My wife went to phone into work to let them know she wasn’t going. “She was with Julen and asked me to keep an eye on him as she made the call. He was only a few feet away.
“I went to get a couple of logs for the fire for the paella and he began to run. “We saw how he fell down the hole, my cousin more than me because she was closer.
“I heard him cry at first but then I didn’t hear him cry anymore.”
The parents have been keeping a tearful vigil near the site as the half a million pound rescue operation continued.
Meanwhile the Internet channels in Spain poured with tributes to Julen, Spain’s son. From King Juan Carlos, to Iker Casillias to Laura Pausini and many more paid tribute through #DEPJulen hashtag, in a case which has kept many ‘awake’, with the hope the saga had a better ending.
