A 28-year-old man has died after a giant redwood tree fell on him in Muir Woods National Monument, California, on Christmas Eve. The incident occurred while he was walking on a marked dirt trail with two other people.
The victim has been identified as Subhradeep Dutta, from Edina, Minnesota. He was pinned by the trunk of the 200-foot (61-metre) tree, which measured more than 4 feet (1.22 metres) in diameter, and was pronounced dead at the scene.
A woman in the group was injured by falling debris and taken to hospital for treatment. A man hiking with them escaped injury. The tree fell following a series of winter storms over the previous two weeks.
Park spokesman Charles Strickfaden described the event as 'very rare' and 'isolated', potentially caused by wet ground around the tree's roots due to recent storms. The National Park Service extended its thoughts and prayers to those involved.
Muir Woods, north of San Francisco, is famed for its towering trees and attracts nearly a million visitors each year. The park remained open on Thursday, with only areas affected by debris closed to the public.
