Girl Crushed To Death By Statue, Investigation Continues

German magistrates have asked for a technical report on the statue that crushed Lavinia Trematerra, a seven-year-old girl from Naples, Italy, to death while she was playing in a hotel courtyard.

When the accident took place on Friday evening, the girl was on holiday with her parents in Munich, Germany, reported Mirror. She was playing with a boy, 8, when the statue toppled from the pedestal it had been perched on for around two decades. It weighed 200 kg (about 441 lbs). The heavy statue hit her in full view of her father Michele Trematerra, who is a lawyer. After hearing the girl's screams, three people in the hotel ran to her aid and lifted the statue off her.

After paramedics arrived on the scene, they tried to resuscitate her. They took her to a local hospital, but almost two hours later, Lavinia succumbed to her injuries.

Munich Police released a statement saying that on Friday, at around 7.30 p.m., a "child from Italy who was on vacation with her parents was in a courtyard of a Munich hotel." The statement read that for reasons that are still unclear, a "stone statue weighing around 200kg fell over and seriously injured the child."

The girl's mother Valentina Poggi, who is also a lawyer, said that the child will always be "our angel. Rest in peace, love of our lives." Her father said that their lives have changed.

Police are investigating the incident and are trying to find out if Lavinia climbed onto the statue. Sky News reported that the statue was not attached to the ground and fell on top of the girl while she was playing.

According to Corriere Del Mezzogiorno Chronicle, the German magistrates have asked for a technical report on the statue. This came after it emerged that the accident might have been caused by the way the statue was positioned. No surveillance cameras in that area of ​​the hotel were seen.

Meanwhile, her parents are waiting to be able to bring their daughter's body back to Italy and then host a funeral. In this difficult time, the Italian consulate in Munich is offering the couple full support.