Sculpture commemorating the victims of the plane crash on April 29, 1959.

An Iberia Douglas DC-3 aircraft flying from Barcelona to Madrid deviated from its route due to a storm and crashed into the Pico del Telégrafo (peak of Collado Bajo) between the towns of Valdemeca and Huerta del Marquesado. On this flight, along with the 27 other people traveling on the plane, Spanish gymnast Joaquín Blume lost his life. He was one of Spain's most popular athletes of his time, world champion in 1957 and winner of several consecutive Spanish championships. His wife also died.

The rescue of the victims proved extremely difficult. It was snowing when the first people arrived at the scene, some reforestation workers. During the lengthy operation to recover the bodies, it snowed intermittently throughout the night and into the next day. Chronicles describe Dantesque scenes, as almost all of the victims of the accident were scattered over a vast and completely forested area.

The notoriety of the prominent victim, Joaquín Blume, made it impossible for the Franco dictatorship to cover up the accident.

An interesting fact surrounding this event is that a certain Antonio Fraguas de Pablo (1942–2018) missed the plane, fortunately for him and for us. The then 17-year-old later became very famous as a Spanish graphic humorist/cartoonist under the pen name Forges. He was awarded the Gold Medal for Merit to His Work in 2007, the Gold Medal for Merit to Fine Arts in 2011, and the Ondas Mediterráneas Award in 2011. forges.com

Translated by Google •

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Location: Huerta Del Marquesado, Serrania Alta, Cuenca, Castile-La Mancha, Spain

Monument to the 1959 Plane Crash Victims

1. Bar El Chiringuito Wilanoro loop from Huerta del Marquesado

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