It is with great dismay that the ERF learned of the tragic death of the Spanish ranger Juan Pedro de la Cruz Sagredo. He fell victim to the floods in central/southern Spain last Tuesday. Our deepest sympathy and thoughts are with his wife and two children whom he leaves behind, his friends and colleagues. To all we would like to send comfort and big hugs.
The Spanish NGO Asociación AMINTA helps the families of fallen rangers in service and honours their memory. If you would like to help, please find details of how to donate at the bottom of this page. AMINTA has the following information on the events surrounding the death of Juan Pedro de la Cruz Sagredo:
“Juan Pedro de la Cruz Sagredo, Ranger in the Vitigudino region of Salamanca, was on duty this Tuesday, December 13. He was going alone in an official car of the Junta de Castilla y León, from Villarino de los Aires to Cabeza de Framontanos, an area that he knew very well because he had been deployed there for many years.
When his disappearance was noticed, the search began. Up to 20 of his colleagues, numerous neighbors, firefighters from the Salamanca Provincial Council, Civil Guard, Civil Protection, including 2 helicopters and drones, joined the search of Juan Pedro. The search lasted until this Wednesday the 14th, with better weather conditions and sunlight.
The first bad news came at approximately 11:00 a.m. when Rangers found the vehicle he was driving, a Suzuki Jimny, semi-submerged in the Cabeza de Framontanos Rivera, approximately 1 km from the town center. The main hypothesis is that Juan Pedro could have been dragged by the enormous force of a current unleashed by the heavy rains of recent weeks.
Again, Juan Pedro’s colleagues, locate his body in the same riverbed, the Rivera de Cabeza, also semi-submerged. It was 1:50 p.m. Juan Pedro was 55 years old, married with 2 minor daughters.
We know that the intense rains of the last weeks had made the flow grow until it exceeded the height of the bridge that he had crossed so many times. The current was too strong for the vehicle he was driving, and he was swept away by the water until he fell into the riverbed.
He contributed with his work to the conservation and management of a special territory, Las Arribes, as its inhabitants like to call this region. The fluvial canyons on granite rock formed by the rivers with the greatest flow are fed by small channels that can form some more pronounced pit at the end of their sections. In general they are calm streams and isolated pools, but when it rains a lot, they can reach volume and strength.
We send our condolences to your family Juan Pedro, and a hug to you, comrade.”
We would like to support this with all our heart. Rest in peace.
DONATE FOR JUAN PEDRO´S FAMILY
If you would like to help the family of our fallen Spanish ranger colleague Juan Pedro de la Cruz Sagredo, you can do so here:
Asociación AMINTA
IBAN: ES92 1491 0001 2730 0011 7072
BIC: TRIOESMM