Man found dead inside model dinosaur after climbing in to retrieve phone

A man has been found dead inside a large model dinosaur in the Spanish municipality of Santa Coloma de Gramenet, on the northern outskirts of Barcelona. Local media said the man was reported missing by his family, and that a father and son who often visit the model dinosaur noticed something amiss and called local authorities …

[You aint sin me, roit]

Sleeping with the stegosaurus

Disrespectful way to dispose of a body... stegosaurus was a herbivore.

Mine's the one with a copy of The Godfather in the pocket...

[vtcodger]

Re: Sleeping with the stegosaurus

"stegosaurus was a herbivore"

Or so we thought.

[Blofeld's Cat]

Re: Sleeping with the stegosaurus

Watch out for the Thagomizer...

[Anonymous Coward]

Re: Sleeping with the stegosaurus

http://www.bbc.com/earth/story/20150420-the-giant-plants-that-eat-meat

So they've evolved.

[Tom 7]

Man killed by dinosaur?

Just what the young earthers need to keep them going for another 6000 years!

[Anonymous Coward]

Re: Man killed by dinosaur?

Except that they know the apocalypse is nigh.

This sounds more like a lizard people opportunity.

[DrXym]

Alternative explanation

Man, possibly drunk, tries to climb dinosaur for a selfie and falls headfirst through the thin paper mache shell.

[Anonymous Coward]

Re: Alternative explanation

If he's "possibly" drunk then he deserved to die did he?

Speculating dismissively about a death that you know nothing about demonstrates a weird lack of empathy.

[DrXym]

Re: Alternative explanation

Thanks for your strawman (or should that be papier mache man) argument. It's not about "deserving" to die, it's about understanding how he might have died.

If you want to exercise your mock outrage, there are other comments below where it might work a little better.

[Anonymous Coward]

Re: Alternative explanation

Nonsense what else was the suggestion of drunkenness supposed to convey?

[Jonathan Richards 1]

Re: Alternative explanation

> what else was the suggestion of drunkenness supposed to convey?

To me it conveyed the hypothesis of someone whose judgement was impaired by alcohol. I certainly did not parse it to mean that anyone deserved to die, and I find it odd that you did, tbh.

[Anonymous Coward]

Re: Alternative explanation

Must be some childhood trauma.

[mevets]

Re: Alternative explanation

yo, karen, try to lighten up a bit. I haven't done a survey, but I think most people who accidentally off themselves by doing something stupid with a tacky tourist traps sense the humour of their predicament.

He might yet get a darwin award, because irony.

[zuckzuckgo]

Re: Alternative explanation

> what else was the suggestion of drunkenness supposed to convey?

Motive. Alcohol can effect your judgment leading to misadventure. This does not in any way suggest that they deserve to die, but it might explain why an and otherwise reasonable person does something that in hindsight seems foolish.

I am lucky enough to have survived some youthful misadventures and (mostly) wiser for it.

[Stork]

Re: Alternative explanation

+1. As my dad used to say, a lot of things turn out OK.

[Anonymous Coward]

Re: Alternative explanation

There's no alcohol mentioned! You made it up?

You sick fucks, Laughing while this guys family cry.

TBH That's why the reg put it on here, because they thought it was funny too,

Perhaps try to picture it, if you can imagine someone else suffering at all.

[SundogUK]

Re: Alternative explanation

"...weird lack of empathy."

You're new to the reg, aren't you?

[Anonymous Coward]

Re: Alternative explanation

The only person who used the words "deserved to die" was you, ergo you are the one with the problem.

Another snowflake attention seeker trying to be offended on behalf of other people.

[Friendly Neighbourhood Coder Dan]

Re: Alternative explanation

"ergo you are the one with the problem."

It vaguely reminds me of the saudis objecting to a .baby TLD because, according to their warped minds, it would attract or even encourage paedos.

I don't think normal people's minds would have gone down that road in a million years. Or possibly a million light years, even.

[herman]

First kill

The first human being killed by a dinosaur.

[Khaptain]

Re: First kill

That could have a serious impact on a certain Mr Darwin's theories...

[Andy Non]

Re: First kill

Bit unjust, he was only pulling the dinosaur's leg.

[parlei]

Re: First kill

Not even close to first, since birds are dinosaurs.

[adam 40]

Re: First kill

... and alligators and crocodiles...

[Potemkine!]

Re: First kill

... that we know ^^

[Skiron]

Re: First kill

Ah come on - I am sure one of Raquel Welch's mates in 10000 BC would have been the first, or even maybe Doug McClure's lot.

[herman]

Re: First kill

Hmm, even if it was called 10 Million years BC, it would still be wrong. The old fossils lived an amazingly long time ago. It was so long ago, that even their food turned into rock also.

[Warm Braw]

Santa Coloma de Gramenet

El Prat might have been a more appropriate location.

[Anonymous Coward]

Re: Santa Coloma de Gramenet

Well, Santa Coloma is Justo Molinero's land, the Tele-Taxi man and its Can Zam festivals... if that's not Jurassic, please tell me what it is...

[Anonymous Coward]

Poor sod..

What a horrendous way to die.

Apparently his family had reported him missing only a few hours before he was found.

[AndrueC]

Re: Poor sod..

Puts me in mind of this pretty horrible case of death by cleaning.

Why I always ensure I have a working telephone with me when working in an enclosed space.

[GrumpenKraut]

Re: Poor sod..

Even better to have someone with you. If impossible, an arrangement like "if I don't call you within two hours, I am in trouble and need your immediate help" can be made. Oh, and check that your phone actually works in the place.

[Yet Another Anonymous coward]

Re: Poor sod..

A friend built a startup on this with Asterix.

You phoned into a central number before going onsite, it logged your phone# and if you didn't call back to clear the site within a certain time it would alert a pre-programmed contact.

It was just after that estate agent got murdered by someone she was showing a house to in the 90s

[IdrinkGuinness]

Re: Poor sod..

This estate agent?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Disappearance_of_Suzy_Lamplugh

[rcxb]

Re: Poor sod..

A telephone can potentially fail. Getting wet will do it.

A better option, or at least a good backup in most cases is having a whistle on your keys. Will cover great distances with very little effort. The recommended distress signal option for hikers as well.

[Anonymous Coward]

@rcxb - Re: Poor sod..

I strongly doubt the victim in this case would have been able to reach for the keys.

[claimed]

Re: Poor sod..

Version without paywall

https://www.standard.co.uk/hp/front/man-died-after-getting-trapped-inside-cupboard-6965787.html

[Anonymous Coward]

Re: Poor sod..

There was another very unfortunate accident where a teenager became trapped head first between car seats with his arms pinned.

He was able to dial 911 using his cellphones voice recognition but that wasn't enough to save his life from incompetent police:

https://edition.cnn.com/2018/04/12/us/ohio-teen-pinned-minivan-trnd/index.html

[Pascal Monett]

To die for a phone

I understand the importance that mobile phones have today, but if you lose it in a ginormous model dinosaur and you're all alone, maybe you should start by going to the Municipal Hall and ask for help ?

Or even flag down a police car. Anything but going in headfirst without anyone to help you get back out.

Not to mention that he could have damaged the model.

That was an unreasonable act any way you look at it. I'm sorry that he died, but he really should have given the matter a bit more thought.

[imanidiot]

Re: To die for a phone

As posted above, I wouldn't be surprised if liberal amounts of inhibition removing alcohol was involved.

[hoola]

Re: To die for a phone

All I can think of is that he fell into the model and then either injured himself such that he was unable to call for help by shouting or passed out from the alcohol and as sadly happens, then vomited and because of where he was, died.

Surely there would have been staff who noticed a hole in their dinosaur or CCTV that spotted someone climbing on the model.

The story is amusing in the same way that these plonkers who fall off buildings, waterfalls & mountains trying to take the ultimate selfie are.

It is the "how can anyone be that stupid".

[Anonymous Coward]

Re: To die for a phone

Presumably he didn't realise that it was something that was likely to kill him.

[GrumpenKraut]

Re: To die for a phone

This. Confined spaces are dangerous. Head down in a confined space without immediate help is deadly.

Ask any cave explorer.

[Yet Another Anonymous coward]

Re: To die for a phone

>This. Confined spaces are dangerous. Head down in a confined space without immediate help is deadly.

But all this safety paranoia in schools, kids today rarely get a chance to play with dinosaurs and so don't learn the dangers.

Perhaps some scary 1970s public information film - like the one about going swimming with death.

[Rol]

Re: To die for a phone

Meow meow meeeeoowww meow mmmeeeoowww meow meow.

Charlie says that white haired DJ weirdo is making lewd suggestions and he wants to speak to his agent before he continues with this road safety advert.

Waffle waffle blurb blurb blah blah blah

The producer says to shut the fuck up and get on with it. It is the 70's and that kind of thing is the norm if you want a career in TV.

..........................!

Society and the judicial system appear to be uninterested and say nothing

Meow meow meow meeeooowww

Charlie says anyone who was in a position of authority in 70's Britain should be locked up.

Meoow meoow meow

And he adds, Keep safe children. Stay in mummy's tummy until at least the 90's

[The Oncoming Scorn]

Re: To die for a phone

Charley was voiced by "Cuddly" Kenny Everett.

[Caver_Dave]

Re: To die for a phone

"Ask any cave explorer."

The air could be fairly toxic in there as well.

Cavers always leave a call-out time with a responsible person, and Cave Rescue Controllers (being reasonable people) will go and check for the persons car etc. first, before launching a full scale call-out in case of telephone issues. (I used to be a Cave Rescue Volunteer.)

The only time I was the subject of a call-out, we were making slow progress on a notorious through-trip (between two cave entrances) as one of the team was having problems with a knee "popping-out". Our local call-out watched the Cave Rescue blue light vehicles go past the Pub window before he thought to look at the time! Luckily, my wife was the responsible person, and she had called from over 150 miles away!

Boffin icon, because the stereotypical UK caver has at least a degree education (University Clubs being the greatest recruiters.)

I used to explore with a guy of very small physique and if he was setting off somewhere too small for me to get down, we used to tie a rope around one of his ankles, so that I could help pull him back. And on another occasion, another small person started making very strange noises as they edged down a tube (feet first) in front of me. It took a while to work out that he was hanging from his helmet's chin-strap (the helmet being the widest part of him) with his feet in mid-air over a 100 foot drop.

[spold]

Re: To die for a phone

>>> The air could be fairly toxic in there as well.

Well if you have your head down a dinosaur's arse what do you expect?

[imanidiot]

Re: To die for a phone

This is what I suspect. He dove head down into one of the legs, then found he had no way to push himself back out. Horrible way to go.

[Prst. V.Jeltz]

Re: To die for a phone

maybe you should start by going to the Municipal Hall and ask for help ?

well , no

Each situation is different - it depends on the size and species of the model dinosaur , which vary wildy.

Same applies for any other location you drop your phone.

If I dropped it into a municipal flowerbed while photographing the flowers , id probly attempt to recover it myself before' going to the Municipal Hall and ask for help'

If however I accidentally dropped it into the Kola Superdeep Borehole (40,000ft) I'd probably not attempt to recover it myself.

[Anonymous Coward]

Re: To die for a phone

In this case hindsight really is 20x20 :P

[Skiron]

Re: To die for a phone

Actually, maybe it was an android phone, and couldn't go "round corners (c)", so he got stuck.

[Unicornpiss]

Deep Thoughts

..Somehow this reminds me of one of the old Jack Handy 'Deep Thoughts': "If you ever drop your keys into a river of molten lava, let 'em go, because man, they're gone."

[hnwombat]

No fowl play?

Oh, come on, of course there was fowl play. Today's dinosaur wreaking revenge on those pesky mammals...

[GrandBleu]

He fell foul of Darwin's Law...

[Potemkine!]

He fell foul of Darwin's Law...

...but can definitely pretends to a Darwin Award

[a_yank_lurker]

Darwin Award?

Is the deceased entitled to at least an honorable mention?

[Cynic_999]

My guess

My guess as to the cause is positional asphyxiation.

[KAChristophe]

Really sad

I feel really bad for the man's family. To have the media all over this story in addition to the shock of losing him so suddenly is horrific.

[Blackjack]

It says Spanish yet the quoted Twitter is not in Spanish.

That being said is extremely fishy no one noticed the guy for so long.

[herman]

The Deplorables...

Hmm, I suppose that most people lead completely unassuming lives. Old people celebrated in death, are usually only celebrated for being very old, not for having accomplished anything mentionable in their super long lives. That, is quite disheartening actually.

[EvilDrSmith]

Catalan perhaps? (Just a guess, I don't read Spanish or Catalan)

[Irony Deficient]

It says Spanish yet the quoted Twitter is not in Spanish.

Yes, it’s Catalan — Un nen i el seu pare is Catalan for “A boy and his father”. (“Spanish authorities” and “Spanish municipality” in the article refer to Spain rather than to the Spanish language.)

[Daniel Garcia 2]

It's Catalan,

That is one of the co-official Spanish languages.

[Anonymous Coward]

I was wondering how they found him.

You wouldn't expect him to be inside a dinosaur.

[Anonymous Coward]

Re: I was wondering how they found him.

So that would be the first place to look, no?

[Richard Cranium]

Re: I was wondering how they found him.

The article gives a possible answer:

"... that a father and son who often visit the model dinosaur noticed something amiss" - so some external signs of a problem, foot sticking out of the mouth perhaps?

Alternatively the article says "Local media said the man was reported missing by his family" so family used a "find my phone" app perhaps?

The speculation that "...the man somehow managed to lose his phone inside the model beast..." is ambiguous. Some other posters here have taken it to mean he dropped the phone into the dino and went in after it. That is one possibility. An alternative is that once inside and stuck (maybe head down in a confined space with surfaces of slippery plastic) he attempted to get the phone out to call for help but dropped it and the eventual rescuers found it slipped further out of reach. Or being head-down, the phone just slipped out of a pocket.

No cause of death specified but in that situation CO2 build up? (See the stories of cavers Neil Moss 1958 in Derbyshire and John Jones 2009 in Utah).

As for "...possibly drunk..." that too is pure speculation until the autopsy reports the blood-alcohol level.

"...perhaps after deciding to spend the night within its skin..." speculation again and questionable as he was a family man. Speaking as such, in the event of a disagreement with my wife and deciding to spend the night elsewhere, spending it inside a model dinosaur would not feature prominently on my list of possible venues. (To my dear wife, should you read this: I don't actually maintain such a list but, should the need ever arise I can assure you I could come up with a better alternative, not necessarily with a lady-friend. I'm not aware of a suitable dinosaur in our locality and would be reluctant to go on a long journey to locate one.)

[Caver_Dave]

Re: I was wondering how they found him.

Up vote for remembering Neil Moss. I've walked past his final resting place a few times and always doffed my helmet.

[Lindsay T]

Re: I was wondering how they found him.

Odour?

[Zarno]

Not really a joking matter, but here I go.

Anyone remember the scene from Ace Ventura: When Nature Calls with the rhino?

That's the first thing that came to mind.

[Paul Hovnanian]

I disagree

As dinosaurs are distant relatives of birds, I think this guy certainly did succumb to foul play.

[spireite]

Alive... status change...

Or to put it another....

Was, (before)

not was (not was)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vgiDcJi534Y

[BryanFRitt]

Where was the hole that he climbed in? and Why was there a hole big enough to fit a person through there?

[Intractable Potsherd]

Uuurggh - <shudder>

An attack of claustrophobia-by-proxy is not a great way to start the day. I'll probably not sleep tonight now that my fears have been poked with a stick.

[That's not a dig at the report, but at me for not thinking about the way the death might have occurred.]

[Sirius Lee]

Or..

...maybe the 2006 film Night at the museum was in fact a documentary and one of the animal cast got carried away in the updated Spanish edition.

[arachnoid2]

Looking further into this............

"“We found the body of a man inside the leg of this dinosaur statue. It’s an accidental death; there was no violence. This person got inside the statue’s leg and got trapped. It looks as though he was trying to retrieve a mobile phone, which he’d dropped. It looks like he entered the statue head first and couldn’t get out."https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/may/24/missing-man-found-dead-inside-spanish-dinosaur-statue

Not a good way to die and given the image it must have been a very tight fit for him entering the leg.

[Lindsay T]

I think he laid himself open to a bit of mockery by managing to find a unique and absurd way of dying. Other than the fact that it was probably deeply unpleasant, going out on a blaze of publicity has its merits, possibly more so than the mundane lingering exits most of us will endure. So let's be a little sad but hail this hero's ingenuity.

[arachnoid2]

Yes dying from the rejection of commentators here or even surviving null points in the Eurovision Song Contest is so much easier to bear

[Peshman]

Man found dead inside Jurassic Chicken.

"Police suspect no foul play"

...Oh, really?

[spold]

Last words... I can't get a signal in here

Extinction event

[Danny 2]

The Obsessive Life and Mysterious Death of the Fisherman Who Discovered The Loch Ness Monster

https://narratively.com/the-obsessive-life-and-mysterious-death-of-the-fisherman-who-discovered-the-loch-ness-monster/

The Aberdeen Press and Journal, in its headline on May 23, christened the mysterious creature the “Loch Ness ‘Monster’” — which would become its enduring name. And the newspaper’s report, along with others in the Scottish press, noted something else. Sandy Gray had not only seen the Loch Ness Monster: He was going to attempt to catch it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zgbhEjrhnLM

Seen enough to eye you

But I've seen to much to try you

It's always weirdness while you

Dig it much too much to fry you

The weirdness flows between us

Anyone can tell to see us

Freak scene just can't believe us

Why can't it just be cool and free us?

[arachnoid2]

Are we sure it wasnt a hit job

After all having a scientist hanging from a tree with no blood is just as absurd.

[TonyB]

Cause of death "swallowed by a dinosaur" on your death certificate would give your family something to smile about at a time of sadness.