PASADENA, Calif. -- A 75-foot-tall pine tree broke free of the ground and fell onto children at a summer day camp Tuesday, leaving eight injured, two of them critically, fire officials said.
The pine crashed without warning about 5 p.m. just outside the Kidspace Children's Museum, Pasadena fire spokesman Lisa Derderian said.
"I heard a tree crack and then I turned around and I saw little kids running, and then I saw the tree fall on top of the little kids, maybe about five or seven of them," Greg Prodigalidad told KABC-TV.
Prodigalidad said he and some parents rushed over and began pulling children free of the branches.
The Fire Department dispatched its urban search-and-rescue team to cut apart the tree to ensure no one was trapped underneath.
Eight children, ranging from 6 to 8 years old, were injured.
Derderian said six were treated at the scene for cuts, bumps and bruises and two were taken to a hospital in critical condition.
All the children were alert and able to talk, she said.
A Section on 07/29/2015