Boy Killed By Sacrificial Goat Which Fell From Roof

A schoolboy was killed when a sacrificial goat jumped off a roof and landed on his head.

Heval Yildirim was playing with friends when the animal – which also died – plummeted six floors from the top of a block of flats.

The 13-year-old’s father, Mehmet, had brought the goat into town to sacrifice on Muslim feast day Eid al-Adha.

He could not find anywhere suitable to keep it so stowed it on the roof above the family’s home on the top floor. ‘I am devastated but what more can I say?’ he said. ‘In fact, there is nothing at all to say.’

Police said they were investigating Heval’s death in Diyarbakir, south-eastern Turkey, adding it was the first such case they had heard of.

Eid al-Adha honours the willingness of Abraham to sacrifice his son when commanded by God, who intervenes by giving him a lamb to kill instead.