A seven-year-old girl has died, and another is fighting for her life after being caught beneath a tree which collapsed in Southend. The tree was reportedly being propped up by metal poles when it fell at about 3pm yesterday afternoon (Saturday, June 28) in Chalkwell Park.
Three more children reportedly suffered minor injuries in the incident. Police are investigating what happened and an area has been set up for the laying of flowers and tributes.
Assistant Chief Constable Lucy Morris of Essex Police said: “Updates will be provided on the condition of the little girl who remains in hospital. I know many will be thinking of her today and she is in the right place, receiving urgent and around-the-clock care surrounded by her family.
“Sadly, her condition is still very serious at this time.” Dozens saw the incident and rushed to try and lift the tree, a witness said. Accountant Ishan Madan, 39, from Westcliff-on-Sea, was playing in a cricket match nearby when he heard a “horrendous, screeching scream”.
“Everyone ran towards the clubhouse, where the tree is,” he said. “The tree had snapped and I think there were four children, the fifth one was slightly further away, I think she’d been hit by a branch.
“Two of them were under a smaller branch, they were rescued easily, and unfortunately, the other two girls, they were stuck under this massive tree. So we got bystanders to help, it must have been 40 to 50 people who then tried to lift the fallen tree up and to our horror, these two little girls, poor girls, were stuck underneath it.
“Their mother was on the corner. It was horrendous.” Mr Madan said that he had heard the children were walking on a path when the tree fell.
He continued: “You’d never think something like this could happen and there were a lot of people at our club that were shocked, including myself. It was horrendous.
“It was like a nightmare that you’d sort of wake up from and then someone would tell you it wasn’t true. You couldn’t imagine kids walking in the park and something like this happening.”
Chief Superintendent Leighton Hammett said that those who rushed to help “showed the best of Southend”.
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