Madrid Woman Dies in Tenerife Tram Accident After Asia Trip

Zahra Hajlouti López, a young woman born in Madrid in 2003, died on September 30 after being hit by a tram in Santa Cruz de Tenerife. She was a person with a family, friends, a job, and many dreams, but also moments of distraction, especially when listening to her favorite music like flamenco, techno, or rap. That morning, Zahra, with her dark skin, curly hair, and bright black eyes, had more reason than usual to be distracted. She had just arrived in Tenerife after nearly 40 hours of travel on three planes, with almost no sleep.

She desperately wanted to go to bed, but first, she needed to renew her driving school registration for her practical exam and pick up some groceries for her empty fridge. She had just returned from fulfilling a lifelong dream: a trip to Asia. This was the same trip she had always wanted to take with her mother, inspired by watching the "Pekín Express" TV show when Zahra was a child. Sadly, she couldn't go with her mother, who died in 2020 from COVID-19 at the start of the pandemic – a loss Zahra carried with her always.

However, on September 12, Zahra was able to fly to Colombo, Sri Lanka, with a friend. Videos on her Instagram showed her beaming with an enthusiastic smile. She was seen leaning out of the famous train on the picturesque Kandy to Ella route, watching a sunset in the jungle, or swimming in a waterfall.

On September 30, around nine in the morning, her friends Paula Sánchez, 28, from Madrid, and her boyfriend Brian Nuez, also 28, from Tenerife, saw her arrive home. They lived together on Avenida Islas Canarias, where the tram line ran. Zahra had flown from Colombo to Istanbul, then to Madrid, where she spent the night in the airport corridors because she missed her connecting flight to Tenerife. She took the first flight to the island that morning, arriving home in Santa Cruz exhausted and jet-lagged.

"I offered to go with her, but she didn't want to," Brian recalled. "She wanted to go down, do everything as quickly as possible, and come back to finally rest." He then saw her leave after putting on a load of laundry with some of her travel clothes. She was already wearing headphones. She had to work the next day.

Zahra Hajlouti never returned. Witnesses told Paula and Brian that Zahra, still wearing headphones and listening to music, was crossing the same pedestrian crossing on Avenida Islas Canarias, near Calle Poggi Borsoto, which she had used many times. She felt confident seeing two other young women cross. The tram, heading towards Zurita bridge, honked several times, but Zahra neither looked nor heard the warnings. She was lost in her music and her exhaustion – a distraction of just a couple of seconds.

It's a sad irony that the island where she found so much happiness was also where she lost her life. Zahra, whose mother was Spanish and father Moroccan, had truly thrived in Tenerife. Her friends Paula, Brian, and María López, 25, a nurse from Murcia, all agree: "She was in love with the Island. Here she seemed happier, more smiling, and more outgoing than ever, unlike the shyer, more reserved Zahra from Madrid."

Zahra had lived in Leganés, near Madrid, with her mother. After her mother's death in 2020, her grandparents moved in to care for her. She studied marketing and briefly worked in a Madrid restaurant. Paula Sánchez met Zahra through a cousin. In 2021, Paula visited Tenerife for the first time to see another cousin, and there she met Brian. Their friendship blossomed into a relationship.

"In Tenerife, I felt liberated," Paula remembered from that first week-long trip. "After returning to Madrid, I met Zahra one day, and we talked about how wonderful the island was. I told her: 'Why don't we go together, on an adventure? You'll want to stay, just like I did.'" And so they did. They arrived in September 2021, staying at Paula's cousin's house in the historic El Toscal neighborhood of Santa Cruz. "It was love at first sight. As I predicted, she wanted to stay. On the island, Zahra was different: cheerful, active, more affectionate than ever, full of life..."

After returning to Madrid a week later, Zahra seemed to revert to being a broken, withdrawn, and isolated girl. They spent New Year's Eve 2021-2022 at Paula's family home. "Shall we go to Tenerife to start a new path?" Paula asked her. Zahra instantly replied, "Yes!" In January 2022, after six months of moving between Airbnbs due to a rental crisis, which took them from the south to the north of the island, from Puerto de la Cruz to La Cuesta, they finally found a stable apartment in the capital of Tenerife, jobs, friends, and a sense of stability.

Zahra worked at various places, including Panaria in Plaza de España, the Bongó nightclub on Avenida de Anaga, and the Cinco Estrellas bar on José Murphy street. She loved exploring the island, especially watching the sunset from the Chipeque viewpoint, which offers stunning views of Teide and the Orotava Valley, or swimming at Benijo beach in Anaga.

Her love for Tenerife and Benijo was so deep that she had the beach tattooed on her arm. In her free time, she enjoyed listening to music and watching series like 'Breaking Bad' and 'Alice in Borderland'. When the "chicharrero" Carnival came around, she was always eager to make a costume and join the festivities. For the last Carnival, she dressed as a character from the 'Dragon Ball' manga.

Paula and Brian considered Zahra like a sister. "She used to tell me her secrets," Brian shared. "She was generous, very loving, always supported us." On that tragic Tuesday morning, September 30, they heard that someone had been hit by the tram. They were so close that they used a geolocation app to know each other's whereabouts. "We looked at the phone out of curiosity, and it showed that Zahra was on Avenida Tres de Mayo. We thought, 'What is she doing on Tres de Mayo?'" Paula recalled.

They started calling her repeatedly, but she didn't answer. "How strange," they thought. Then, Paula's phone rang. It was a police officer. The officer asked if she knew Zahra, as Zahra's census registration listed the same address. After Paula confirmed and Brian, growing suspicious, pressed for more information, the officer simply said they would come to the house with a psychologist.

That's how they learned that the person killed by the tram was Zahra. And they then understood why the app showed her phone on Tres de Mayo: it was the police station where the officer had taken her phone.

On October 28, Paula Sánchez, supported by Brian Nuez, María López, and others, launched a petition for better safety measures at the pedestrian crossing on Avenida Islas Canarias. Residents have been asking for this for years, considering it a high-risk area. They are collecting signatures in person and through the online platform Change.org.

They highlight that at this busy crossing, there is a traffic light only for vehicles and the tram, not for pedestrians. "The installation of a traffic light at this crossing is necessary to prevent future accidents and even save lives," the Change.org petition states. "We only want to ensure that no one else has to go through what we are going through," Paula clarified. On the day they launched the campaign, Zahra's friends placed flowers, photos, and other mementos on a pole at the crossing.

Following this tragic accident, the Tenerife metropolitan tram system launched the campaign 'Disconnect, Look, and Cross'. "A simple but vital reminder: looking up from your phone before crossing can save lives," one of the videos posted by Metrotenerife, the public transport company, emphasized. It concluded: "Because a second of distraction can make all the difference."

Zahra Hajlouti López would have turned 22 on October 19. On Saturday, October 3, her body was taken to Madrid, where her father, grandparents, and other family and friends held a vigil. Paula, Brian, and María traveled to Madrid specifically to collect Zahra's ashes and bring them back to Tenerife. At the burial, they brought a heart-shaped wreath of red roses with a ribbon that read: "From Tenerife to heaven, your friends will not forget you."