The former Deputy Mayor of Funchal, Idalina Perestrelo, accused of negligent homicide in the 2017 Monte Tree Tragedy said today, that there were never any warnings regarding that tree, and that not even “in someone’s worst nightmares” could anyone predict the tragedy.
“There was never any warning regarding the state of the oak tree,” Idalina Perestrelo said, noting that “on the contrary,” the Chamber always received “praise because the garden was well tended.”
The defendant, who at the time of the incident was responsible for the Environment and Green Spaces in Funchal City Hall, was speaking at the Madeira District Court, in the third session of the trial of the case of the fall of a tree in the parish of Monte, which caused 13 deaths and dozens of injuries on the 15th of August 2017.
Asked by the President of the collective of judges, Joana Dias, if there was “any way to predict” the fall of the oak tree, Idalina Perestrelo replied that, “never, not even in nightmares, would anyone predict such a thing.”
Regarding the cause of the fall of the tree, the defendant said she did not have an answer to date, arguing that it was not possible to identify a reason that is solely responsible for what happened.
The defendant stressed that “no concrete disease was identified in the roots,” pointing out that “there was, yes, a deficit branch.”
“What the experts told us is that there were several factors that could have caused the crash. […] From what I am aware of in the reports, no specific conclusion was reached,” she said, on the other hand, when questioned by the judge about one of the technical reports (after the incident), which identified “rot in the central part of the root.”
Joana Dias also asked if the fact that the oak was located on a slope, suffered rot, and was subject to mechanical vibrations contributed to its fall.
“There was certainly a set of factors there […]. I can’t say it was specifically this or that,” the defendant said in response to the judge.
According to the former mayor, the municipality never received warnings about the oaks of Largo da Fonte, but about the plane trees.
During the trial session, Idalina Perestrelo was asked to recount the day of the tragedy. Responding, she said, “I, because I had the responsibility, felt even more what was happening there,” she said.
The defendant regretted “everything that happened” and assured that she always worked, as well as everyone who worked with her, “worked responsibly and ensured that the green spaces under their authority were well maintained. I’ve always worked with everyone on the basis of trust, rigor, and professionalism, and I trusted them.”
The former deputy mayor of Funchal also assured that “if any work was necessary, ether pruning or the removal of a dead, rotting or at risk tree, for safety reasons, it would have been done.”
For his part, a lawyer acting on behalf of the victim’s families questioned the lack of technical training of the defendant in the areas she protected, asking, “why had she accepted the role if she were underqualified and did not have adequate training? ”
“I don’t know if it’s diminishing my skills or not,” Idalina Perestrelo replied “but I felt competent and responsible enough to take on this position.”
The trial of this case began on the 12th of April, with a short session marked by the absence of the two defendants and was then postponed several times due to strikes by court officials.
Thirteen people (two of them foreign nationals, French and Hungarian) were killed and a further fifty people were injured when an old oak tree fell on a crowd during a festival.
Samantha Gannon
info at madeira-weekly.com
