During a Monday evening press conference, a visibly distraught Luxembourg City mayor Lydie Polfer offered her deepest condolences, echoing public sentiment when she said, “There are more questions than answers.”

Here’s what is known: the Luxembourg boy who succumbed to his injuries even before an ambulance crew managed to get him to hospital was 2 years, 10 months old. According to Polfer, police and emergency services CGDIS were quickly on site and, along with private security firm staff, cordoned off the area. Members of the family were offered psychological support services. Polfer emphasised that a tragedy like this has never occured on the Knuedler, and she said it’s the worst anyone could have imagined. 

The investigation into the incident is underway, and the block of ice that fell with such devastating consequences has been seized for further investigation. 

It’s the third time the French company, Ice and Art, had been contracted by the Luxembourg City Tourist Office to create ice sculptures for the event. The company has won around a dozen awards for its work in international competitions, and never have their sculptures been linked in any way to such a tragedy. In his role as LCTO president, Marc Angel explained that the sculpture had participative elements--meaning that members of the public could take photos or otherwise interact with it. The block of ice from which the sculptures had been carved was 2.5m high and weighed in at 2.2 tonnes.

Angel also explained that the sculpture in question was carved live after the ice was delivered to the Knuedler around 2pm. He said there was a “perimeter of security” during this time. 

This last fact was something I was already well aware of: on Sunday, my husband and my daughter--age 2 years, 11 months--decided to go to the Luxembourg City Christmas market in the late morning. After an hour of ice skating, we got lunch for her and then wandered the area. Like other kids, our daughter was intrigued by the ice sculptures being carved live near the ice rink. She wanted to touch some of the finished sculptures, the ones which had been fashioned into small standing logs, which had been placed just outside the cordoned off area. Although we let her touch one, we refused to let her sit on them as other children were doing--but then had to be a bit more stern with her when she tried to go under the “perimeter”--nothing more than a thin rope strung between mobile supports in front of the larger sculptures and the sculptor, who was busy working away with his chainsaw on the very house facade sculpture that proved to be fatal.

I specifically remember making a comment to my husband about whether this was safe--meaning the perimeter, not even considering the sculpture at the time--and we agreed it would be best to go elsewhere before our daughter became curious again. 

There are, indeed, many more questions than answers in light of the tragedy that happened less than six hours later. 

Our concern about safety was only one of several throughout the course of the day. While we were relieved to see concrete barriers between the road and the Place de la Constitution market, was the sliver of sidewalk there too narrow for the crowd that was passing along it? At the smith’s stall, directly opposite the Cercle Cité, we couldn’t help but ask ourselves: was having an open fire there a good idea? Many of the concerns we felt throughout the day were related to the sheer number of people on the Christmas market that Sunday. We left earlier than anticipated. 

On Monday evening, the only sounds on the Knuedler were the chiming of churchbells, the occasional sobs of visitors who came to pay their respects to this child and his family, to lay flowers and plush toys in his memory.

As parents, we do everything in our power to protect our little ones. We sometimes do this to the point of overprotection, perhaps even paranoia. We try to push stories of tragedy down to the deepest recesses of our minds so that we can function daily. 

But Sunday’s tragedy cannot be pushed out of our minds. It is even more pronounced. The tragedy happened close to home, during a season where many of us--adults included--are captivated by the lights, reflections, the magical sights and sounds of the holidays. 

Over the weeks or months, we may glean more insight into how the tragedy occurred. For now, the city and police are asking for anyone with photos or videos around the time of the incident to share them with the investigating authorities, in hopes that more light can be shed on the situation. 

As the Christmas market reopens on Tuesday, the sculptures will have been removed, but is this enough? Has overall safety been reassessed since the market’s closure?

There are many unanswered questions--not to mention anger being expressed on social media and throughout Delano's network.