A 24-year-old student was crushed to death after falling into a rubbish container during a night out in Majorca, police have confirmed.
Agostina Rubini, an Argentinian national, went missing in Palma after partying with friends on the Spanish island.
Her disappearance prompted a large-scale police search across the city and surrounding areas. Investigators later located skeletal remains at a waste treatment plant after tracking signals from her mobile phone.
Police have now confirmed that Rubini died after accidentally losing consciousness inside a rubbish container.
Officers believe she voluntarily entered the bin and passed out while inside. The container was later collected by a rubbish lorry and transported to the Son Reus waste treatment plant.
The circumstances were reconstructed following weeks of forensic and digital analysis.
After her phone last pinged at the landfill site, police halted operations at the facility. A month-long search was launched at the site involving specialist teams.
More than 60,000 tonnes of waste were examined during the operation. Investigators recovered more than 1,000 skeletal remains during the search process. Specialists later confirmed that two of the remains were human.
Police findings and reconstruction of final movements
The human remains were sent for laboratory testing and DNA extraction. The samples were compared with DNA provided by Rubini’s relatives.
After detailed analysis, police confirmed the remains belonged to Agostina Rubini. Authorities said the findings brought the investigation to a conclusion.
Mobile phone data was used to reconstruct Rubini’s movements on the night she disappeared. She was last seen shortly before midnight on October 2 after leaving friends she had been drinking with.
Police believe she was waiting for a bus around midnight to return to Palma Nova, southwest of Palma. Investigators think she dropped her phone and climbed into the bin to retrieve it.
Police believe she then lost consciousness inside the container. A witness was waiting at the same bus stop at 12:12am and noticed Rubini’s handbag placed neatly beside the bin.
The witness did not hear any calls for help or screams before refuse workers arrived. The bin was emptied at approximately 12:27am.
The rubbish truck, carrying around seven tonnes of waste, arrived at the Son Reus treatment plant at 2am. That was when Rubini’s phone emitted its final signal.
Homicide investigators said it is impossible to survive inside a rubbish truck due to the lack of oxygen.
Police chief Fernando Reboyras said: “She was a thin woman who had difficulty consuming alcohol. This was made worse by medication she was taking.”
Featured image credit: Spanish Police
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