A teenage girl was crushed to death in bed when a giant tree crashed through the roof of her home while she was sheltering from a storm.
The freak accident happened after Lara Barrios’s mum told her to come home as a powerful storm began to hit Bella Vista, a town in the province of Corrientes, in Argentina.
When trainee teacher Lara, 19, got there the storm had torn down power lines so she decided to curl up in bed.
She died moments later when powerful winds brought down the tree, reportedly a huge Eucalyptus tree, sending it crashing through the roof.
Rescue workers found Lara dead in her bed with the fallen tree trunk on top of her.
Civic leader Gaston Carcano explained: “During the storm, the power went out and her mother left the room to unplug the appliances. At that moment the tree fell.”
Municipal workers arrived on the scene and saw that the tree had destroyed part of the house.
By the time they had cut away enough of it to reach Lara she was already dead, according to local media.
The mayor of Bella Vista, Noelia Bazzi, said: “It is a very sad day for everyone because Lara was part of a family that was very loved throughout the town.”
The town has said that it will help Lara’s family rebuild their home.
Lara was studying a History Teaching Course taught at the Bella Vista Higher Teacher Training Institute.
One of her friends, who has not been named, said on social media: “You have left us heartbroken and speechless, Larita. What a shock fate has given us.
“Who would have thought that everything would change in the blink of an eye?
“Shine brightly, beautiful doll, as you have done here on Earth.”
