The festivities of a wedding in California were cut short by tragedy after a 30m eucalyptus tree fell, killing one and injuring five others.
The woman who died after the tree fell has since been identified 61-year-old Margerita Mojarro, who was the mother of the bride.
USA Today reports that when police officers arrived at the scene, they found the family members trapped under the tree where they had been taking photos. They freed five people from the tree by using chainsaws, however Ms Mojarro tragically died.
“They were here for a joyous occasion and then, unfortunately, a very large tree interrupted that,” said John Tripp, a Los Angeles County Fire Department deputy chief. “They right now are going through a lot of issues that we are trying to support.
“Fortunately, there weren’t more people that were injured by the tree collapse,” he added. “It could have been worse.”
While one of the victims was taken to the local trauma centre, the others were treated in hospital for minor injuries. It has been suggested that the cause of the tree collapse was the drought in California, which had weakened it.
“Not that I think this could have been prevented,” Tripp said, “but it’s just again showing that the vegetation in southern California is still very stressed from the drought we’ve had for five years.”
