A military member of the UME dies in an accident during the extinguishing of the Las Peñas de Riglos (Huesca) fire

A member of the Military Emergency Unit died this Sunday in an accident that occurred during the firefighting efforts of the Peñas de Riglos fire, in Huesca, according to the president of Aragón, Jorge Azcón, in a message published on the social network X. “I have conveyed my deepest condolences to the lieutenant general of the Military Emergency Unit for the death of a soldier in the Peñas de Riglos fire,” Azcón wrote, who expressed his “affection and support” to the family of the deceased and his colleagues and called for a minute of silence at the start of the CECOPI meeting on Sunday afternoon.

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The Ministry of Defense has expressed its condolences for the death on that same platform and wished a speedy recovery to the injured: “Our deepest condolences to the family and loved ones of the UME soldier who died in the line of duty in an accident at the Peñas de Riglos forest fire and our wishes for a speedy recovery to the injured comrades. Rest in peace,” reads the message, accompanied by the image of a black ribbon as a sign of mourning.

The incident occurred on the Bernués road, when the vehicle carrying several personnel overturned for reasons still under investigation. In addition to the deceased, three other people were injured, although no further details about their condition have been released so far.

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The accident happened during an intervention against a fire that started last Monday and has kept a large emergency device mobilized, which this Sunday reached a thousand personnel from different administrations, including more than 570 UME soldiers. The fire has devastated an area of 16,000 hectares, according to estimates by the Aragonese authorities, and the deployed device has managed to consolidate much of the perimeter. The right flank of the fire remains a concern, as well as the area from the municipality of Bernués to the Monastery of San Juan de la Peña, where the situation became critical last Thursday due to a change in wind and required the intervention of the Military Emergency Unit to save several valuable pieces and bone remains of eight medieval kings, whose tombstones are in the building.

On Friday, a judge sent the 28-year-old man arrested on Wednesday as the alleged author of the fire to provisional prison without bail, according to the Civil Guard, whose Nature Protection Service (Seprona) has been in charge of the investigation. The suspect is held in the Zuera prison in Zaragoza.