MUIR WOODS NATIONAL MONUMENT PARK, Calif. (AP) — A huge redwood tree fell and killed a man visiting Muir Woods National Monument Park in California on Christmas Eve, authorities said Thursday.
Subhradeep Dutta, 28, of Edina, Minnesota, died while walking on a marked dirt trail with two other people in the park north of San Francisco famous for its towering trees, according to the Marin County coroner's office and a spokesman for the park.
Dutta was pinned by the trunk of the 200-foot (60.96-meters)-tall tree and was pronounced dead at the scene. The trunk measured more than 4 feet (1.22 meters) in diameter.
A woman injured by falling debris was taken to the hospital for treatment. A man hiking with the group escaped injury.
The tree fell following a series of winter storms over the past two weeks.
“This is a very rare, and isolated event that may have occurred due to wet ground from recent winter storms, around the roots of the tree,” park spokesman Charles Strickfaden said in an email.
“The National Park Service extends its thoughts and prayers to all those involved,” he wrote.
Almost a million visitors visit the park each year. It remained open Thursday and only the areas affected by debris from the fallen tree were closed to the public.
Australia says it will fight against plans to downgrade the Great Barrier Reef’s World Heritage status due to climate change, while environmentalists are applauding the U.N. World Heritage Committee’s proposal.
A sharply limited number of fans will be allowed to attend the Tokyo Olympics. The decision announced Monday comes as organizers try to save some of the spirit of the Games where even cheering has been banned.
Scientists have found a dead Asian giant hornet north of Seattle, the first so-called murder hornet discovered in the country this year.
A huge diamond weighing more than 1,000 carats, which could be the third-largest mined in history, has been discovered in the southern African country of Botswana.
Three Chinse astronauts have arrived at China's new space station at the start of a three-month mission, marking a milestone in the country's ambitious space program.
The U.S. death toll from COVID-19 has topped 600,000, even as the vaccination drive has slashed daily cases and deaths and allowed the country to emerge from the gloom.
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has confirmed that the next planned relaxation of coronavirus restrictions in England will be delayed by four weeks until July 19, as a result of the spread of the delta variant.
The price to rocket into space next month with Jeff Bezos and his brother is a cool $28 million.
Vaccine maker Novavax says its shot is highly effective against COVID-19 and also protects against variants.
J&J Contamination, New Israeli Government, Djokovic wins. Here are the headlines you Need2Know for Monday, June 14, 2021:
